


Rekindled Anew

by PyreFly77



Series: Rekindled Anew [2]
Category: PAW Patrol
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Love, Children shouldn't go through this kind of thing, Consolation, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Pain of separation, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Recovery, Regret, Reunions, Self-Hatred, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 134,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23986999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyreFly77/pseuds/PyreFly77
Summary: Not many can say that they've risen from the dead. But Marshall, returning from his forced separation from the Paw Patrol, has effectively done just that. Despite being completely alone to fend for himself for three days, through grit and perhaps luck, he came back.But the dalmatian finds a completely different Adventure Bay and Paw Patrol waiting for him. As delighted as everyone is to have him back, the trauma inflicted by his supposed death was very much real. Just because the earthquake has stopped doesn't mean that the damage inflicted by it will simply go away. Relations are strained, nightmares are had and the whole team is still wondering about their future.And as much as Marshall continues to suffer from the trauma of his fight for survival, so too does everyone else. And he knows that in order for him to be free of the chains that drag him down, everyone else has to be the same way.
Series: Rekindled Anew [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690429
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. Prologue: The Extinguished Sun

...why do I even bother waking up every morning?

Better question, why does it feel like it was only a few hours ago that Marshall died?

I know its been at least a day by now. Maybe two? No, three. But it still feels so fresh in my mind. A standard Cali rescue. She got stuck in a tree over a raging river in the forest… and it ended in that stupid cat jumping on Marshall's face and sending him off his ladder! He fell onto a ledge… but then it crumbled and sent him into the river! Why?! What has Marshall done to deserve death?! He was a good pup! He was MY pup! Am I such a bad owner that I can't even stop one of them from dying?!

We're supposed to be the Paw Patrol! We're supposed to pull off any rescue! And we can't even save one of our own?! Even Chase couldn't do anything! He couldn't aim his net straight down, and we had to watch Marshall disappear right in front of us! I thought he was his friend! And he was as useless as I was! It's his fault! What kind of pup did I raise that lets his friend die?! Why is he even on the team?!

...except… no. That's stupid. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore… I was crying so hard then, but… I could tell. So was Chase. He's got to be just as broken as I am. Maybe even worse. Those two were so close… They've known each other for so long. And Chase had to watch Marshall die like I did. Not even Zuma could swim through a river with a current as fast as that… Chase really hates letting people down… I can't imagine how he's feeling.

I can still hear Marshall's last words… "I love you"… No! NO!! How could he say that?! We let him die! I don't want him to love us! He shouldn't love us! He expected us to save him, and what do we do?! Just watch him fall into that river! He should've screamed about hating us!

This is all that… that CAT'S fault!! If Cali hadn't jumped on Marshall's face! No! If she hadn't climbed up that tree over the river in the first place, Marshall would still be here! He wouldn't have fallen off his ladder! Katie better keep Cali away from me… I don't know what I'll do if I see that pup-killer again…

Ever since then, all I've done is shut myself in my room and cry… Stare at the ceiling... And ask questions. How can I call myself the leader of the Paw Patrol if I let my pups die? What kind of owner am I? Did Marshall feel betrayed as he died? Do Everest and Tracker know? Does the rest of Adventure Bay know? Has Chase told the others?

Well, OK, I guess he has. I've heard Skye and Rocky try to talk to me… to try and help me… Those poor pups don't know how badly they're hurting me by doing that. They sounded so… crushed. They probably need me, too. But… I snapped. I just raged at them. Screamed at them. Yelled at them to leave me alone. Then I heard them walk away crying. I guess that answers my question of what kind of owner I am. A really, really bad one. One that doesn't deserve to have pets. One who's so negligent that he lets them die right in front of him and then neglects the rest of them afterwards.

All I've done is make sure they all still have food and water. Every night at 1AM, I check their bowls. Fill them and leave them in the Lookout. But most nights, only a little bit of the water's gone… The food isn't touched. Can't say I blame them. Marshall was like a brother to most of them. He brought so much fun to the Lookout. And now he's gone forever, just like that. I haven't eaten, either, I mean, how can I? A little water from time to time and that's about it. Don't think I've slept much, either. I know that all I'd dream about is Marshall. After all, he's all I've been thinking about since then… I must have been trying to sleep, though. I changed into my pajamas the day that he died, after all. Where did I find the energy to do that, though?

Something tells me that Adventure Bay probably knows that Marshall is dead. I remember… Katie? I heard a voice. A familiar one. Just outside my room. But what did she say? It can't have been important. I mean, I don't remember any of it. Or if I said anything back. I probably didn't. Come to think of it, we've gotta be having a funeral, right? But who's organising it? Mayor Goodway? The pups? Not that I'd know. I shut my Pup Pad off and threw it against the wall. Still in one piece, surprisingly. But I've had basically no contact with the outside world since then. Adventure Bay probably hates me… Marshall was one of this town's rocks. And now he's gone forever… I couldn't even bring back a body… They probably don't even want me to show my face around town again. And I don't blame them one bit. I'm actually a little amazed they haven't tried to run me out of town by now. But when they eventually do, I really won't mind it...

But it's weird… The last thing I remember is hearing Chase's voice… And when I went to investigate… Marshall was right next to him. Filthy and scruffy and… thinner than normal, but… alive. Alive and talking and there and NOT DEAD. I remember crying like a baby and hugging the both of them as hard as I could… And I think I heard a bunch of other voices, too. I guess the other pups? But that's not possible. I mean, I guess I fell asleep on the floor last night. And there's still something close to my face that's… kinda rough. And… stinky.

But I know Marshall's dead. I saw him die and so did Chase. Maybe I just talked to Chase and blacked out somehow. That's gotta be it. What, did Marshall just come back to life? Psh. I'd like to see that. The powers that be obviously don't think I'm enough of a bad owner. Now they're giving me dreams of Marshall living? Dreams that maybe I don't need to be so miserable? Dreams that I won't have the death of one of my pups hanging over me after all? I can't even run away to Dreamland without seeing Marshall everywhere. I'll have to open my eyes at some point and come back to real life… Real life where Marshall is dead because I'm such a bad leader, the town hates me and my pups have to cope without me being there for them…

Just… please… enough… I can't take the pain… I know… I know I'm a horrible person. I'm a horrible owner. I'm a horrible leader… I don't want to push everyone away… My pups need me… And I need them… But it hurts too much… All I can think about is Marshall… All I can think about is how badly I screwed up… I know I don't deserve any of what I've got… I've learned my lesson… So please… just make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.

MAKE.

IT.

**STOP.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here goes precisely naff all. I said I'd bring Rekindled Anew to AO3, and now here it is. The sequel to Relight the Fire. I'm not certain of how many people will actually read this, but I still feel like this was my best work in the whole time I spent writing fanfic. Despite consensus not agreeing with me.
> 
> While the previous fic focused on Marshall and Chase near-exclusively, this one is going to extend out to the entire team, ancilliary members included. And as I said, the prequel fic to this was merely a two-shot. But this one is about 20 times as long. A total doorstopper. And I'll be uploading a new chapter once every two days. I am concerned that this will be a little much for such a large story, but all I can do is hope that you stick with it.
> 
> Again, not much to say. Thanks for listening, and I hope to see you in the next chapters.


	2. Miracles Exist

Contrary to the emotional storm that had raged the night before, the sun rose in a cloudless sky as another morning began in the incredibly solemn Adventure Bay. Ever since the news had broke that one of the town's beloved defenders had suddenly perished on a routine mission, the lighthearted, fun-loving spirit of the town had vanished, leaving behind an almost oppressive atmosphere of despair and sadness.

Nowhere was this more true than in the Lookout. Aside from funeral arrangers and those seeking to pay tribute to their fallen hero, the Paw Patrol hadn't been heard from in days. It was almost as if the team itself had died alongside its fire pup. The pups lived on, as did Ryder, but their innocence had been brutally snuffed out. The sun streamed through the windows of the top floor of the Lookout, which came to illuminate the image of Ryder passed out on the floor, surrounded by his pups. As the sun shone onto Ryder's closed eyes, he stirred where he lay, screwing his eyes tightly shut in response.

The boy tried to process what had gone on the night before. He was quick to wave off the previous nights events as nothing more than a tormenting dream, but judging by all the fur surrounding him, and the familiar scents, he could only confirm one thing: he was in so much despair the previous night that he'd attracted the other pups' attention, and the remaining group had blacked out crying. But if there was one thing Ryder couldn't explain, it was the somewhat foul-smelling bundle in one of his arms. He remembered throwing his arms around Chase and Marshall in his dream, and he definitely felt Chase in his right arm, with the other pups surrounding him from the front.

All manner of questions ran through Ryder's head, but he soon realised that none of them would have answers until he braved reality and opened his eyes. Deep down, the feeling lingered in Ryder's gut that all of what he saw last night was nothing but a dream. That he would open his eyes to the world that he was trapped in where his beloved fire pup was dead. Before Ryder opened his eyes, he could feel stirring around him, followed by a chorus of shocked noises. First, a feminine-sounding gasp, followed by something that sounded like a choke, which itself was followed by what sounded like an exclamation of shock from Zuma, which was concluded by a more male-sounding gasp. Unable to take the suspense anymore, Ryder turned his head towards the rougher object as his eyes flicked open.

Everything seemed to hit Ryder at once, stunning him into speechlessness as his breath was stolen away. The first thing he noticed was all of his pups surrounding him, staring at something in his arms with identical, slack-jawed expressions of disbelief. As if someone had managed to raise the dead. The next thing he saw was Chase, smiling at the same something while looking close to tears of joy. But the last thing he saw is what had shocked him most of all. There, in his left arm, was a pup. A pup with shaggy fur heavily-stained brown, with some dirty white patches accentuated by black spots. Staring up at him with somewhat-bloodshot baby-blue eyes.

Slowly, Ryder's ability to speak returned after a few seconds.

"It wasn't a dream..."

Ryder could only speak in an awed whisper as he rose to his knees. The nightmare he'd been living in had been shattered just as quickly as he'd fallen into it. Marshall, for his part, didn't seem to know what to say as Ryder stared down in shock at him.

"It… wasn't a dream..."

The boy's voice was beginning to crack as he repeated the only words that came to his head, moving his right arm around Marshall.

"It… wasn't… a dream..."

The pups, for their part, hadn't moved at all, staring on at Marshall in astonishment, who, in turn, couldn't take his eyes off of Ryder's tear-streaked face, smiling faintly as Ryder's red, puffy eyes started to well up once more.

"It… wasn't… a… dream…"

Audibly sobbing, Ryder was closer to tears than ever. He was on a train rolling forward without end, and it was just about to derail. A massive smile began to spread across Ryder's face as he shook violently, unable to break his gaze with the pup that they had all thought dead.

" **IT WASN'T A DREAM!!!** "

Until the volcano finally erupted and all of Ryder's emotions blasted forward in a deafening shout. Surprisingly, the pups had barely noticed Ryder yelling loudly enough to practically rattle the windowpanes of the tower. Marshall barely had time to react as Ryder yanked him forward into the tightest hug of his life. His spine had already been constricted several times by both Ryder and Chase in the previous night, but all Marshall cared about in that moment was his reunion with his beloved owner. Barely managing to work his front paws free, Marshall hurled them around Ryder's shoulders, buried his face in his owner's neck and hugged him for all he was worth.

The realisation seemed to hit everyone else at the same time. The nightmare that they were living him had been swiftly blown to pieces. That their brother in all but name, after having gone on his final rescue, never to return, had defied all the odds and come home safely. The pups all simultaneously defaulted to the only action that they could: bursting into ecstatic tears and leaping forward, knocking Ryder to the floor again and embracing their friend as tightly as they could.

Once again, the Lookout was filled with an ear-splitting cacophony of crying and wailing from its inhabitants. But this time, there was an extra sound in the mix. No-one had thought it possible to blend hysterical crying with hysterical laughter at the same time, and yet, there they were. None were louder than Ryder, who had tears spilling down his face for the second time in 24 hours, but at the same time, he was laughing harder than he ever had in his life. No other sounds could express the total joy Ryder felt at his pup's surprise survival. And Marshall, for his part, was laughing to the point of his stomach hurting as he practically drowned Ryder from the face-licking that he was giving, barely noticing the disgusting, salty taste that covered Ryder's face.

Aside from all of the noise, the remaining pups were screaming their heads off in the middle of their tears. Their overjoyed yells were barely audible, but it was easy to make out that they were screaming about Marshall's safe return, sharing their joy that he'd somehow come home alive. The only exception was Chase, who hugged Marshall as tightly as he could from the side, weeping silently in happiness.

He'd already done his crying after Marshall had reunited with him last night. Chase had left his Pup House for the first time since Marshall's "passing" to lay and mourn on a secluded spot on the beach, his only action aside from drinking water and going to the bathroom late at night. But it was there that Marshall gave him perhaps the biggest shock of his short life. Now the other pups could share in his happiness and maybe, just maybe, they could heal from the emotional scars that Marshall's supposed untimely demise had left.

The crying, yelling and laughing had gone on for what felt like an eternity. But after a while, the group had finally all managed to calm down. Everyone was panting heavily and continuing to sniffle and sob, but after having exhausted themselves yet again, they were finally able to talk in a mostly understandable fashion, with Ryder being the first to try his hand.

"W-We all… you… saw… river… looked… C-Cali… fall… had… couldn't… d-dead, like… t-tree… y-you…

Though Ryder ended up failing. The shock had apparently disabled his ability to talk, causing him to give out nothing but fractured stammering where full sentences should have been. It took a little while of trying to gather his thoughts at the same time as talking before anything remotely coherent came from his mouth.

"B-but… but… you're not… d-dead… You're… al… ive… You're… you're here… You… you're breathing and living and… you're… y-you're… not… dead..." Ryder continued to shed tears as he stared up at Marshall.

"G-guess… guess not..." Marshall stammered in return, internally cursing his weak response. He had to admit, looking at Ryder in such a state hurt badly. But he was happy to take seeing his owner with puffy red eyes, unusually-pale skin, greasy gnarled hair and a face drenched with tears over never seeing his owner again. Marshall's fur was heavily-matted and clumped from crying so much, to the point where he struggled to even look at his owner through his bleary eyes.

"How… how in the heck… I-I mean… we all thought you were dead… I… I saw you fall… i-into that river. S-so did Chase… wh-what… even happened?" Ryder choked.

Marshall looked down for a moment, then looking around and scanning the tear-soaked faces of the jubilant, smiling pups around him, then at Chase, who hadn't stopped weeping with a massive grin. Then he turned to look back at Ryder.

"I… I have no idea..." Marshall stammered. "I-I thought… when I fell onto that ledge I-I was as good as dead. Th-then I… went in the w-water… I thought… it was all over…" The pup had squeezed his eyes closed as he remembered his time flirting with the reaper. "It… was s-so cold… I… think I blacked out… The next thing I knew, I was washed up on a riverbank… my equipment was… totally trashed."

Louder sobs started to come from the crowd surrounding Marshall. He looked around, and the pups and Ryder all had expressions of pain. They knew that whatever the rest of Marshall's story was, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"M-M… Marshall..." Rocky had finally spoken up. "I… y-you… What happened… the last three days? Was the journey… th-that long?"

Now it was Marshall's turned to let out a pained sob. The memories of his journey still haunted him deeply. The constant thoughts of if he was ever going to see his family again. The worry of if they actually wanted him back. The lingering doubt of if he was going to die in the forest or not.

"I-It was, Rocky… It REALLY was..." Marshall replied hoarsely. "A-all I had was… the water from my Pup Pack… the river to guide me… a-and Tracker's survival lessons… I didn't know that the forest was that big… or the river was th-that long..."

"B-but..." Now Rubble had finally managed to speak. "Wh-what about food? Y-you couldn't… keep going on no food… r-right?"

"Just leaves and grass, Rubble… L-leaves… and… g-grass… A-and tiny amounts… of water..." Marshall stammered.

A collective whine from the pups and a tighter hug from Ryder was the response to Marshall's answer. It wasn't exactly a disputed fact that a diet of whatever vegetation that a pup could get their teeth on was no way to eat for any of them.

"A-and… no wild animals? A-at all?" Zuma quavered.

"Not one..." Marshall whispered.

"Oh, Marshall..." Skye whimpered. "...you… y-you must've been so… s-so lonely!"

Marshall opened his mouth to reply to the bleary-eyed cockapoo before the words died in his throat. His mind was assaulted by the images of his three day hike, and all of the physical and emotional pain that came with it.

* * *

_Two days._

_Two days of walking and no sign of civilisation anywhere. Marshall's fur was heavily-stained with mud, his water supplies were starting to run low and his stomach was starting to growl once more. As hopeless as he was feeling that he may never see Ryder and the pups again, and as constantly preoccupied as he was with thinking of home as he walked, he still needed to eat like any other pup._

_But Marshall's forced vegan diet wasn't exactly doing him any favours. Not only did he have to work hard to keep each meal down, the lack of meat had left him lethargic. If he'd had any proper food to eat, then perhaps he would've had the energy to have to stop less. Eventually, Marshall decided that right now, what he needed was any kind of sustenance at all. He sighed as he went looking for more fallen leaves and grass to choke down._

_Soon the dalmatian happened across a large tree with a lot of fallen leaves at the base of it. Deciding that it'd do nicely, Marshall moved in to pick one up in his mouth, only to freeze at the sight of a nearby bush, dotted with red berries._

" _Berries!" Marshall cried to himself. "Yes! Anything beats leaves right now!" The pup charged to start ripping the berries off of the bush, only to freeze when he was part way there, as his mind started to play one of Tracker's survival lessons back to him._

" _Oh, yeah… poison… oopsie."_

_Dejectedly, Marshall turned away from the potentially-deadly berries and slowly bent down and chewed on the leaves. Bland, thin and thoroughly unappetising, but if nothing else, they kept his energy on the up. Though he'd already thrown one lot of them back up, and had to fight his body's urge to do it again. After all, aside from the grass on the ground, this was effectively his only sustenance for however long he'd be out here. However long it was, Marshall only knew that he had to keep moving. If there was one thing that could be said about Marshall, it was that he'd dig in and fight no matter how bad things got. Plus, how was he going to replenish his water if he ran out? Dropping his Pup Pack into the river?_

_After managing to keep his meal of leaves down, Marshall steeled himself and pressed onwards, going against the flow of the river._

_After all, his only other choice was to lie down and die._

* * *

The agonising memories of his time away from home had silenced the dalmatian where he lay. Everyone quickly noticed the tears flushing his eyes again.

"I… I… I-I… I-I was… lonelier than… Than I'd e-ever been… i-in my life…" Marshall choked, desperately trying to suppress tears. "I… I had no-one… to… to talk to… no-one… t-to help me… No-one to… t-t-to… to… to-!"

"Marshall, for Pete's sake! Stop holding it in!"

Everyone jumped at the loud command that just came from Chase, who'd been near-silent up until this point. They had all noticed that Chase had yet to stop crying from the scene, his face contorted in an expression of pain.

"Marshall… I know..." Chase stuttered, taking on a quieter, if still tearful, tone. "I know… Out in the forest, you had no-one to talk to… I know that all you'd wanna do is cry… But if you did that, no-one would've heard you… No-one would've been there for you… No-one would've helped you..."

Chase leaned in closer to Marshall, who was now clearly struggling even more not to burst into tears.

"But… y-you're home now… Y-you… You've got nothing left to worry about… S-so… if you cry now… WE'LL hear you. We'll all b-be here for you. Y-you… D-d-don't… Don't have to b-be brave any more! We… w-we finally have you back! A-and you have us back! You've g-g-got... n-nothing to be ashamed of!"

Clearly, the high tension of the situation had gotten to the shepherd. The once proud professional of the group had once again been reduced to nothing more than a sobbing child. He'd already had the honour of being the first pup Marshall spoke to and aired his grief with. Now all Chase wanted was to see Marshall return to his old self. And it looked like Marshall's comeback was starting with the uneven sobbing that the dalmatian had just been reduced to.

"Ch-Chase… I… Y-you-!" Marshall sobbed. "Y-you're right! I… I couldn't cry! No-one… no-one would come for me! I-I'd just be-! Be wasting my e-e-energy!"

Marshall had turned back towards Ryder, burying his face in his sniffling owner's chest. Ryder, in turn, responded by giving Marshall another tight hug as he stayed sprawled on the floor, and the pups moved in once more to hold on to their friend as he sobbed wildly into Ryder's chest.

"Marshall. Hey." Ryder whispered audibly. "It's OK. You're safe now."

"I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!!" Marshall wailed. "I THOUGHT I… I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!! WAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"

Ryder's face shifted to a determined, unshakable glare, even as he had his eyes closed while whispering loudly and resolutely into his pup's ear.

"Hey. Marshall. Marshall. Marshallmarshallmarshall. You listen close and you listen good. You're safe now. There's nothing left to be scared of. I'm NEVER letting you go again. I will NOT lose you again. This will never happen again. I swear. You're never going to be in that much danger again. You will NOT lose us. I will NEVER fail you again. We WILL save you when you're in danger from here on out. Always and forever."

Ryder continued to repeatedly whisper reassurances into Marshall's ear as he and the pups continued to hug the bawling dalmatian as tightly as they could, comforting him as he finally let out all of the agony and fear of the past three days. But the entire time, Ryder wasn't entirely sure who he was talking to. Marshall? Or himself?


	3. Shattered Skyes

The day had only just begun and everyone was already too exhausted to do very much. The confirmation that their supposedly-dead friend was in actual fact still alive and had somehow managed to slog his way back to them all by himself was a revelation that was nothing short of Earth-shattering for the group. What little energy they all had had been rapidly expended, and if their brains weren't going a mile a minute from what just happened, then all of them would likely crash out in a hurry. But as of right now, this wasn't an option.

After Marshall had finally calmed down, there had been a lot of puzzlement over what to do next. But seeing how filthy and thin Marshall was spurred a still pajama-clad Ryder into action with a memory of who he was: a pet owner with the responsibility of caring for six pups. But perhaps more importantly, he was a pet owner who'd been given a second chance. A pup had been taken away from him, only to be miraculously returned.

To this end, he'd ordered the pups to go and eat while he went to tend to Marshall, despite their reluctance to leave him again. As inexperienced as Ryder was in pet grooming, he still knew how to give a pup a decent bath. And the least he could do for his filthy pup was get him cleaned up. And given how smelly Ryder had gotten over three days of solitude, he really didn't mind getting his pajamas wet. He'd only have to wash them later, anyway. After leaving Marshall resting at the back of the Lookout with a food bowl piled high with dog food, Ryder went to draw a bath for the pup to clean all of the mud out of his fur. Soon Ryder approached Marshall once more.

"OK, Marshall, your bath's ready." Ryder gently told the pup. "Did you enjoy your food?"

Ryder hadn't taken very long in drawing the bath, but he seemed to take long enough for Marshall to empty his food bowl. After a brief pause, Marshall replied with a belch.

"Um… heh heh… excuse me." Marshall whispered with a shy grin.

Ryder burst out laughing. "Ahh… At this rate, we'll get you back to normal in no time." he sighed happily, briefly poking Marshall's belly to uncontrollable giggling from the dalmatian.

Ryder scooped Marshall into his arms and brought him over to the filled tub. But when Ryder started to lower Marshall towards it, he unexpectedly started to thrash around and whimper.

"Marshall? Is everything OK?" Ryder asked.

"N-not the water! Please! No water! No water!" Marshall whimpered.

"(Oh… yeah… oops.)" Ryder thought, having forgotten that water is part of what got everyone into this mess to begin with.

Ryder relented, getting on his knees and giving Marshall another reassuring embrace and whispering into his ear.

"Marshall… Trust me… It's OK. It's only a bath. Besides… For once, I'm here. You'll be fine. I've got you."

As much as he was clearly frightened, Marshall had calmed down enough for Ryder to gently lower him into the tub despite Marshall's still-present unease. As Ryder set about cleaning Marshall up, his only thought was that the pup was going to need a lot of time off to finally get back to his old self. But then, judging how the other pups reacted earlier, so would everyone else. Himself included.

A few minutes later, Ryder had brought Marshall past the pups and back up to his room, kneeling behind the dalmatian in front of the mirror that occupied the boy's room after he had opened the curtains that had been closed for the last three days. Marshall's fur had been mostly restored to its former crisp, white state, and while it was still slightly messed-up and stained in places, Marshall now looked like he'd only gotten a little dirty from a trip out to the jungle, rather than hiking through the forest after nearly dying. Around Marshall's neck was a replacement collar and Pup Tag. The pup was slightly amazed. He looked almost as good as new.

"I mean, I'm not Katie, but… we can take you to her later, if you want?" Ryder asked sheepishly.

"I mean, I want to see Katie... but there's something else I wanna take care of first. Well, five things." Marshall replied. "Could I ask you to do something for me?"

"Anything, Marshall."

The pups were sitting in silence at the bottom of the elevator. After three days, each pup had finally emptied their food bowl. Three days of not eating had finally caught up to each and every one of them, leaving each of them ravenously hungry. And now they were doing nothing but sitting in awkward silence. All they could think about at that point was Marshall's safe return. And how lucky they all were. But their thoughts were soon broken by the elevator springing to life and Ryder descending to the bottom with a change of clothes tucked under his arm, along with his Pup Pad. The pups immediately snapped to attention.

"Pups…" Ryder began. "I'll keep this quick… Since you probably don't even wanna look at me right now..."

"...what's THAT supposed to mean?" Zuma asked.

Ryder elected to ignore that for the time being. "I've left Marshall in my bed. He says he wants to talk to all of you one at a time."

The pups all looked at each other. "Fair enough, but who first?" Chase asked.

Ryder directed his gaze at a certain golden-brown cockapoo. "He wants Skye, first."

Ryder barely got to complete his sentence as Skye shot past him at the mention of her name and onto the elevator, which quickly began to ascend without him.

"Hey! Skye! Wait! I need to... urgh..." Ryder called after Skye, before deflating into a defeated scowl.

Skye cursed the elevator as it rose to the top of the Lookout. It simply couldn't go fast enough for her liking right now. But once it got to the top after what felt like an eternity, Skye ran for Ryder's room at a speed to rival the wind itself. She barely wasted a second as she exploded through the dog door to Ryder's room and charged for his bed. Only when she was just about to jump up to it did she finally register the dalmatian laying against the propped-up pillows with the blankets halfway up his torso. Marshall barely had time to react before Skye shot forward and slammed into him at full force, smashing him against the pillows.

"MARSHALL!!!" Skye screamed, swiftly bursting into tears, hurling her front paws around the squashed pup and squeezing him harder than ever. "MARSHALL! YOU'RE OKAY! Y-YOU'RE ALIVE! I-! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IT-IT-IT… IT'S A MIRACLE!"

"Sk… Sk-Skye…" Marshall groaned. "Y… You're… ch-choking… me..."

Skye barely paid any attention to Marshall's strangled complaints as she continued to wail joyfully at her friend's survival. It was probably a good thing that Marshall had already had some experience with bearhugs in the past 24 hours, or else his bones likely would've given way under the pressure.

It took about ten seconds of Marshall tapping out for Skye to ease up on the pressure to a more reasonable level. The cockapoo continued to hug Marshall for all she was worth while sobbing her head off, but Marshall was at least able to breathe a little more comfortably.

"Ah… Ahh… Ahhh… Ugh… Ugh… Jeez, it's like being in a vice..." Marshall panted, finally able to hug Skye back. "You could give Rubble a run for his treats, Skye. How much do you bench?"

"Shut up!" Skye laughed while continuing to cry as hard as ever.

Marshall found himself catching Skye's contagious laughter. Something told him that this was the most Skye had laughed in days. Marshall moved in and nuzzled the laughing pup, who quickly returned the favour, with the two barking in joy and nuzzling each other for what felt like five minutes straight. Even after the two had calmed down enough to talk coherently, they never let each other go. As if one would disappear if the other let up for even a second.

"Oh, Skye..." Marshall whispered. "I missed you so much..."

"...d-ditto..." Skye stammered. "I… I'm so sorry, Marshall..."

"Huh? 'Sorry'? Why are you apologising?"

Skye sniffled before providing an answer. "B-because… We… didn't even bother to look for you… We… we totally gave up on you… But if… if I'd just looked for you! If I'd just flown down the river a little!"

Skye began to shake, with an underlying enraged snarl to her words. "But no. SOMEONE said there was no point! SOMEONE kept saying you were gone! And-! And he was… WRONG! All he had to do was give the go-ahead and NONE of this would've happened!"

Skye soon deflated again, returning to tears of remorse. "We… we're… we're horrible, Marshall… I'M horrible… I-I… I could've… stopped this… all of this… You… you probably… think we… hate… you… W-we… we don't deserve to have you back..."

A long pause ensued, and although Skye felt Marshall shifting in place after a while, she found herself surprised when she felt a large object gently landing squarely on her head. Apprehensively, she looked up to see Marshall staring at her, having delivered a firm, but by no means painful, chop to the skull.

"Skye, that's ridiculous and you know it." Marshall whispered. "None of you are horrible. Least of all you. Look, Chase and Ryder thought I was gone for good when I fell into that river. Heck, I thought that..." Marshall whined briefly before managing to finish his sentence. "...that was the end of me, too… If you were there, you'd probably say the same thing."

"B-but… it was… just a river…" Skye sniffled, moving back in to squeeze Marshall tightly once more, who swiftly hugged her back. "You might've been washed a long way down the river, but… all I had to do was… f-fly down it for a while and… y-you would've been back at the Lookout with us..."

"But it was so fast that anyone would struggle with it. I was sore for about 24 hours from being smashed into those rocks. I still can't believe a pup with my luck only came away with a few bruises..."

"But if… I-I'd only checked, then… We could've… could've avoided all that pain… for both you… and for all of us..."

"But Skye, it's like I said. How could you have stopped the pain if you didn't even know I was alive?"

Marshall felt Skye's grasp tighten. "You don't understand! I would've done anything to not go through anything like the last three days! They… they were worse than any nightmare… It… it was all so normal… and then… Ryder and Chase came home..."

* * *

_The day was a day like most others for the pups. The weather was sunny and radiant, and yet it didn't feel too warm. All in all, it was great weather for simply having fun that day. Skye, Rocky, Rubble and Zuma had all been left behind while Ryder took Chase and Marshall with him on a rescue to save Cali from a tree in the forest. All there was to do was simply play around and enjoy the day, waiting for the pair of them to make their return._

" _Three… two… one… GO!" Rocky yelled, letting a tennis ball loose from a homemade catapult._

" _I got it!" Skye shouted, taking off towards the ball._

" _No, I got it!" Zuma shouted back._

_With Rubble busy digging away, Rocky smiled as he watched everyone going about their day. The rescue was straightforward enough for them to likely not be needed, but they all had their mission gear on just in case. But it seemed that their gear wouldn't be needed this time, as Rocky heard the sound of engines approaching the Lookout._

" _Hey! They're home!" Rocky cried._

_Rocky sat down on the floor as he awaited the familiar blue truck to come and park in its bay. But this was not the sight that greeted him. Instead, he saw Ryder come running up the hill and through the doors of the Lookout bawling his head off, covering his face with his hands._

" _What the-?!" Rocky spluttered._

_Of all of the sights that he was expecting to see today, that wasn't one of them. He stopped to question if he'd really just seen the eternally-unshakable Ryder come tearing through crying his eyes out. He thought on this line of questioning until another familiar sight came past. Chase had moved to park his truck back in its bay and hop back out. Seeing his chance, Rocky ran towards the shepherd, barely noticing the pain on the face of the red-eyed pup._

" _Chase, is everything OK?! Was Ryder just crying?! What happened out there?! What's with the-"_

_Rocky froze in mid-sentence. The mixed breed could feel his blood freezing in his veins as he noticed something. Something that he was quick to connect with Ryder charging crying into the Lookout._

" _...Chase… where's Marshall...?"_

_In response to Rocky's question, Chase screwed his eyes closed and gritted his teeth, trying and failing to suppress a strangled sob._

" _R-Rocky..." Chase began with a strained voice. "I-I… I don't know how to tell you this… B-but… M-Muh… Ma… Mar..."_

" _...'Mar'?" Rocky echoed, the fire of worry spreading rapidly inside him._

" _Marshall's… Marshall's not coming back..."_

" _...why not…?"_

" _B-Be… Because… I… I couldn't… Marshall… fell into… i-into..."_

" _Rocky?" Skye's voice came from around the corner. "Is everything OK?"_

_The cockapoo appeared and moved to join the mixed breed with Zuma in tow. At the same time, Rubble, having overheard Chase's stammering, appeared and moved towards the pups. But only after they got a good look at Chase did they notice the look of agony on his face._

" _Chase?!" Rubble spluttered in shock. "Wh-what's wrong?! What happened?!"_

" _Guys I… Marshall… I-I don't know how to s-say this but… Marshall's… He's… M-Marshall's… been… k-k… killed in action..."_

_Everyone stared blankly at the shepherd, not quite knowing how to respond._

" _Chase… This… This is a not a time for jokes..." Zuma said with a massive degree of uncertainty._

" _Who's joking?!" Chase snapped nastily at the labrador._

" _Chase! You don't have to yell!" Rocky scolded._

" _Shut up, Rocky! I'm serious, here! Marshall-"_

" _What the heck's gotten into you, Chase?!" Rubble spat indignantly._

" _Cali knocked Marshall off his ladder and into the river! Cali killed him!" Chase yelled back, mixing anger with sorrow._

" _But… it's Marshall!" Skye interjected "He's gotta be OK! I can just fly over the river and look for him!"_

" _Don't be stupid! The current was way too strong and the river was full of rocks! He couldn't-"_

" _But he's stronger than that!" Skye continued in furious denial. "He can handle a little river!"_

" _Just listen to me, alread-!"_

" _Chase, Marshall's still out there! How could y-"_

" _ **MARSHALL'S DEAD!!!** "_

_Everything completely froze in that moment. The shocked expressions that everyone was giving Chase were frozen as still as a photograph. It was as if Chase had screamed into the face of time, and now it didn't dare to tick any further. Chase began to breathe even more heavily, before his legs gave out from underneath him and he dropped to the floor in despair, very quickly beginning to cry._

" _H-he… He's… He's dead! He fell… fell into the river! Th-there's n-no way… ANYONE could survive that! I… I was supposed… T-to save him! And… I-I… I LET HIM DIE! HE WAS COUNTING ON ME, AND I FAILED HIM!!"_

_Chase's grief-filled sobbing quickly became overwhelming, leading the pup to lie with his face buried in his paws, repeating himself over and over._

" _HE WAS COUNTING ON ME, AND I FAILED HIM! HE WAS COUNTING ON ME, AND I FAILED HIM! HE WAS COUNTING ON ME, AND I FAILED HIM! AND NOW… H-HE… HE'S **GONE!!!** "_

_Now the gravity of the situation had hit the pups. It had suddenly occurred to them all that they were never going to see Marshall again. None of them could have foreseen this happening, but reality was often unpredictable. Everyone slowly started to cry as they finally started to accept the truth. This had been Marshall's last rescue._

" _Ch-Chase..." Skye sobbed. "Chase I… I… Y-you-!"_

_Skye had moved to place a sympathetic paw on Chase's shoulder, despite the news of her best friend's death sinking in. But what greeted her gesture was Chase violently whipping around and tearing her paw from his shoulder, catching Skye off-guard and sending her to the floor._

" _DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" Chase roared, before charging into his Pup House and slamming his door as hard as he could, breaking down into audible, echoing wailing from the inside. The sound was like that of a tormented ghost, unable to move on from its anguish._

" _S-so… That's it, then?! Th-that's that?! M-Mawshall's dead?! He's gone?! A-and… And w-we're never gonna see him again?! Th-that's it?!" Zuma sobbed._

_Nobody seemed in any fit state to answer the crying labrador. What little remained of Skye's emotional defenses had been mercilessly shattered by Chase's final outburst, leaving the cockapoo curled into a wailing ball at the loss of their fire pup and at one of her closest friends brutally brushing her off. And Rubble had tried to walk over to hug Zuma, only to fall down next to him and burst into tears. This ended up finishing Zuma off, causing the young labrador to cry uncontrollably. More than he ever had in his short life._

_As his friends cried harder than ever around him, learning what it was to mourn the loss of a dear friend, Rocky had fallen to the ground, burying his face in his paws with tears spilling uncontrollably from his eyes. His shaking was a clear indicator that he was about to blow._

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUU** **GGGHHHHH** **AAA** **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA** **AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!** "_

_Until finally, Rocky threw back his head and screamed to the heavens. He screamed louder and longer than he ever had in his life. A scream loud and anguished enough to draw the attention of anyone for miles around. A scream to curse the heavens above for stealing their friend away. A scream that was a demand for answers. Answers to the question of why their friend had to be taken from them._

_But nobody answered him._

* * *

Marshall stared on in horror as Skye finished recounting her story. It was as if Skye had been living in another reality. What she described was nowhere close to the Lookout that he knew and loved. She had described a Lookout full of despair. Of darkness. And his "death" seemed to turn it all very real indeed. But even thinking about it was too much for Skye, as she broke down once more, sobbing into Marshall's shoulder.

"Skye, I-! I-I'm so sorry!" Marshall stammered, hugging Skye for dear life.

"S-Sorry?! Wh- Wh-Wh-?! What the heck are YOU apologising for?!" Skye sobbed in disbelief.

"It's because of me that everything went like this! If I wasn't such a clumsy fool, this would've never happened!"

"DON'T SAY THAT!!" Marshall jumped at the volume of Skye's rebuttal. "This wasn't your fault at all! N-None of it was! It was… It was CALI! That… th-that CAT! She's the… one who g-got… got us all into this mess! Sh-she's the reason… we thought you were dead!"

Marshall wasn't quite sure how to react to that. He only wished that this accident hadn't turned Cali into a pariah among the Paw Patrol. Cali was just scared, after all. Marshall wondered if things would have been different if his guard had been up.

"Skye..." Marshall whispered, rubbing the cockapoo's back. "Everything… everything's gonna be fine now… You don't have to worry any more…"

A long pause ensued before Skye gave her answer. "...I doubt it."

Marshall blinked. "Huh? Why?"

Skye slowly calmed down as she pulled away enough to look Marshall in the eyes again. "B-because… I never got around to telling you this, but… We've been… arranging a… f-funeral for you… But… i-it was almost all me..."

"...what...?"

"Chase and Ryder were both down and out the whole time you were gone, and you were… d-d… dead… Remember how we're numbered? Ryder's #1, Chase is #2 and you're #3. So… with everyone down, that-"

"Left you in charge as #4..." Marshall completed Skye's sentence after putting the pieces together in his head.

"You got it. Plus, aside from Chase, I'm the oldest. But… planning the funeral, trying to comfort the others, answering all the hard questions… finding your truck... seeing everyone who wanted to pay tribute… That was nearly all me. I mean, Mayor Goodway did what she could for the funeral, and Rocky tried to take care of Rubble and Zuma the best he could… But… other than that… I was totally alone..."

Marshall's hearing wasn't quite as good as Chase's, but he could swear that Skye was growling. Ever so slightly, but it was there.

"I couldn't expect Rubble and Zuma to do anything… they're both so young… And they were a total mess… And Rocky… he tried his best… with Zuma, especially. But aside from all of that? It was all me. Ryder and Chase… they basically didn't help me at all… They just… left me to it! They ran away! They… they totally ditched me!"

Now it was plain to see that Skye was fuming. Marshall couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"The two of them left it all up to me! Don't they think I wanted a shoulder to cry on, too?! I was hurting, too, but I didn't even have any time to mourn! I was too busy having everything dropped on me at once! We all needed them! And they… just ran away! They just left us! I… I… I had to be strong for everyone because they couldn't! A-all this time… I had… to be… brave… b-but… but..."

Skye's voice shook like an earthquake. It sounded to Marshall like yet another meltdown was on its way. And this time, it wasn't going to be coming from him.

"...I DON'T WANNA!!" Skye screamed, bursting into tears and pulling close to Marshall again. "I'VE SPENT SO LONG… SO LONG TRYING TO BE STRONG FOR EVERYONE! I DON'T WANNA-! I D-DON'T- I DON'T WANNA BE BRAVE ANYMORE!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

"Skye, Skye! SKYE!" Marshall cried, trying to calm down the bawling pup clinging to him. "You don't! You DON'T have to be brave anymore! You don't have to be strong! Everything's fine! People are here for you!"

"LIKE WHO?!" Skye yelled back, breaking their hug and glaring at Marshall with rage-filled tears pouring from her eyes. "ALL THIS TIME, I'VE HAD NO-ONE! YOU HEAR ME?! NO-ONE! AND I STILL DON'T! WHO THE HECK HAVE I GOT NOW?! HUH?! **HUH?!!** "

"YOU'VE GOT ME!!" Marshall screamed back, doing his best to make himself heard over Skye's angry outburst. This seemed to do the trick, as Skye fell silent immediately, looking at Marshall in teary surprise.

"Everything's going to be OK." Marshall managed to calm down enough to speak in a more soothing manner. "I know… When it looked like I was dead, it was some of the worst days of your life. They were the worst days of MY life, too. But…" Marshall finally managed to bring himself to smile warmly at Skye. "But it's all over… We're all back together… We're never gonna let ourselves get torn apart again… And you don't have to be strong anymore… You want a shoulder to cry on? Well..."

Marshall swiftly pulled Skye back into their embrace.

"...you've got one."

Skye didn't say anything more after that. All she could do was bawl uncontrollably into Marshall's fur, just as he'd said. After all the time she'd spent having to force her feelings back in. All the time she'd spent only being able to cry over her friend's supposed death at night. All the time she'd spent trying to be a beacon of hope in the team's darkest hour. Now she didn't have to be anymore. Now she could finally let it all out.

And nothing could have made Skye happier than finally being able to release all of her pent-up pain.


	4. Rocky Road

Skye had long lost track of time as she lay in Ryder's bed snuggled up to Marshall. She'd managed to stop crying after a long time, but she continued to hug Marshall as tightly as she could, breathing as steadily as possible. She couldn't deny that finally letting out all of her pent-up emotions made her feel much better, but perhaps a better antidote was the reassuring presence of her friend, whom they had thought long-dead.

"Marshall… I…" Skye whispered. "I don't want this to end… I… I don't want to let you go..."

"Hey." Marshall replied. "From now on, you don't have to. I'm not going anywhere from here on out."

"Y-you… promise to be safe?"

"When I get back out there? One hundred percent."

"'Get back out there'?!" Skye broke their hug and pulled away in surprise, staring at Marshall in perturbance. "Marshall, you nearly died out there and risked your life to get back here! Isn't it a little early to be thinking about that?"

Marshall took a deep breath and sighed. "Skye, you know I live for this job. Just like you do for yours and, heck, everyone else does for theirs. I don't know how long I'll be out, but I don't want it to be forever."

"I know, but… the last time you went on a rescue, we…" Skye sniffled again, pulled back in and defensively clung to the spotted pup. "...we lost you..."

"Well, I'll just have to learn from my mistakes then, won't I?" Marshall replied, draping his front paws over the cockapoo once more.

Skye whimpered. Missing Marshall for three days seemed to make her forget that when Marshall put his mind to something, swaying him was a herculean effort. "Well… OK…" she quietly conceded. "...but please… please take better care of yourself… and… take your time resting… I… I never want to go through losing you again… Heck, I don't want to go through losing ANYONE again… Never ever."

"I promise…" Marshall whispered, briefly pulling away and drawing an "X" shape over his chest with his paw. "Cross my heart."

Skye's head was spinning long after she'd given Marshall one more bearhug and departed Ryder's room, heading for the elevator. For the last three days, she was at her lowest. Believing that she'd never be happy again. Believing that the sun had been permanently blocked out by dark clouds of despair. But she'd just spoken to the very pup who she believed would never be seen again. It was as if he'd never left. Joking and being as resolute as ever, and even managing to calm her down from her rage and sadness.

All kinds of questions ran through Skye's head as the elevator descended back into the Lookout's lower area. What were they going to do about Marshall's funeral? Would they cancel it? Hold it anyway? How were they going to tell the rest of the town that Marshall was actually alive and well? Did Marshall pick up any sicknesses or injuries along the way?

As Skye came back into view, the remaining pups snapped to attention once more, joined by Ryder, who had been sitting on the floor in silence. Strangely, now that the boy had properly showered, combed his hair and gotten dressed, one would be unable to tell that Ryder had spent the last three days as a depressed wreck, perhaps barring the dark circles around his eyes and how unusually-pale he was.

"So? How was he?" Chase immediately asked her when the elevator had touched down.

Upon hearing Chase's voice, however, Skye's mood almost-immediately nosedived. That voice served as a reminder of why she was so miserable in the first place. Skye's mind cycled through her memories of having to make arrangements and comfort the other pups, all while desperately trying to keep her own emotions in check, as much as she desperately wanted to break down crying. Without her really noticing, Skye lowered her head and audibly growled for a few seconds, much to everyone else's shock and fear at seeing Skye of all pups in such an angry state. Even as she stopped growling, she didn't take her eyes off of the floor.

"Huh… now you care about us?" Skye asked flatly. "Hey, Chase? Why don't you do what you've been so good at these last few days and mind your own business?"

The group went rigid. "Whoa! Skye!" Rocky scolded.

"Skye..." Chase squeaked, feeling as if he'd been stabbed in the chest by Skye's unusually-icy retort.

"Skye, wh-what's gotten into you?!" Ryder spluttered. "That was too far! Apologise to Chase right this second!"

And just like that, Skye whipped her head up to glare at Ryder intensely enough to melt through stone. The second reminder of why she was so miserable caused what little she had left of her rationality to disintegrate entirely.

"Oh, so now YOU care all of a sudden?!" Skye snapped angrily. "Whatever happened to leaving you alone?! Huh?! You've been pushing us away and yelling at us for three days and you just EXPECT us to let you back in?! Like how you let us in?!"

"Skye-!" Ryder yelled futilely.

For once, Skye was having none of what he had to say as she continued to tear into him and Chase, alternating between glaring at the pair of them.

"Both of you ran away and left me almost by myself for the last three days to handle almost everything! Neither of you even thought about lending a hand! How do you think it feels, huh?! Having no time to grieve over your dead friend because you were too busy trying to handle just about everything and, oh, I don't know… at least TRYING to keep everyone's spirits out of the gutter?!"

As Skye yelled on, the weight of her words had forced Ryder's head down, directing his gaze towards the floor. Chase only continued to stare at Skye as his eyes welled up, thoroughly-wounded by her vicious tirade.

"You give me one good reason why I shouldn't shut you two out like you've done to all of us for the last three days!" Skye yelled, microscopic tears forming in her pink eyes.

Ryder and Chase only felt worse as Skye issued her demand. As much as they wanted to, they found themselves unable to provide a counterargument. They felt their spirits collapse as they realised just how badly their absences had affected the other pups. Both wanted to be sick as guilt drilled through their stomachs.

"Well?!" Skye barked after about ten seconds.

"I… I-I..." Chase choked.

"I'm waiting!" Skye raised her voice impatiently.

"Be-because… Because, we… y-you..." Ryder stuttered.

"TELL ME!!" Skye roared in a bid to get anything at all from the stuttering pair.

But still, the silence endured. Skye emitted a resentful, disappointed scoff.

"Nothing, huh? Psh. That's what I thought…"

Skye practically spat the bitter conclusion to her argument with the two as she turned around to address the other pups.

Her heart stopped when she finally noticed the horrified looks Rocky, Rubble and Zuma were giving her. The bitter glare on her face was replaced by a similarly-horrified stare. The blood left Skye's face in record-time as she realised that her anger just caused her to make a massive scene in front of everyone.

"Er- I… Erm… S-sorry… Sorry you all… h-had to see that..." Skye stuttered, wanting nothing more at that moment than for the floor to swallow her whole.

When no-one reacted, Skye spoke again, the shame burning yet another hole in her heart.

"A-anyway… Marshall… wants to talk to Rocky, next..."

Rocky couldn't have been happier to hear his name, practically teleporting onto the elevator and frantically willing it to lift him out of the room, leaving two frightened pups, an unexpectedly-angry cockapoo and a pair of remorse-filled statues behind him.

Rocky had to force what he just saw to the back of his mind. But try as he might, he simply couldn't get over it. He knew that Skye was hurt as badly as the rest of them, but he never once envisioned their sweet, energetic aviator getting as angry and resentful as she just did. He couldn't help but feel slightly-guilty at his lack of attention, wishing that he'd noticed all of Skye's negativity boiling away inside of her sooner. Perhaps worse is that he completely understood it. Ryder and Chase may have been hurt, but as much as anyone tried, they'd either come away with dead air or a vicious tongue-lashing. He wanted to jump to their defence, but then, how could he?

But as Rocky got closer to Ryder's door, he realised that he was only a stone's throw away from seeing the very pup that he grieved for for so long. The pup that they were all crying for. The pup that had practically caused the sun to go out with his "death". Perhaps the heavens had listened to him? Perhaps they took pity on them all and returned Marshall to them relatively unharmed? Forgetting the eruption that he'd bore witness to for the time being, Rocky steeled himself and hopped into Ryder's room.

The sight was almost unreal. He'd already seen Marshall as being mostly-alright earlier on that day, but he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Marshall was lying in the bed staring at him as if nothing was wrong. Rocky couldn't bring himself to move at the sight. All he could do was stare. As if his friend had returned from the dead. Which, technically, he had.

"Er, Rocky?" Marshall piped up from the bed, jolting Rocky from his stupor. "Are you, er… OK?"

Rocky willed his vocal cords to work. To say something in response to Marshall's question. But they simply didn't work. It was as if they'd turned to stone. All he could bring himself to do was slowly walk forward, and jump up onto Ryder's bed.

Rocky and Marshall were now only a few centimeters from each other, with Rocky wearing the same bewildered stare as ever. Marshall couldn't help but feel unnerved.

"R-Rocky? Y-you're scaring me..." Marshall whispered, causing Rocky to jump slightly.

"Ah, er… I'm… sorry..." Rocky stammered. "But I… I just can't… I-I..."

Rocky was still too stunned to form coherent sentences. The idea that Marshall might actually be OK was still slightly too much for his brain to handle.

"I… just… c-can't… c-can't…"

But slowly, he was beginning to accept it. And it was an idea that he couldn't be happier to accept, as his widest smile in days spread across his face and his brown eyes began to water.

"I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU!!!"

Rocky's joy radiated off of him and spread to Marshall, whose eyes quickly grew as misty as those of the mixed breed in front of him. The dalmatian just barely had enough time to spread his arms as Rocky leapt at him, catching him in an ecstatic embrace.

Once again, Ryder's room was filled with the sounds of laughing and barking as the two reunited pups hugged each other tightly and licked each other silly. Marshall found himself nearly drowning in the face-licking he was getting from Rocky, whereas Rocky was too happy to notice that Marshall was crushing his ribs, evidently still having a lot of strength left over from his three-day hike.

It didn't take long for the two to wear themselves out, both panting in each other's arms lovingly nuzzling each other, but continuing to giggle.

"Rocky I-!" Marshall giggled. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I thought I'D never see YOU again!" Rocky replied. "I-I still can't believe you made it back OK!"

Marshall quickly quietened down and grew still, as the thoughts of his long hike hit him again. "...neither can I..." he whispered solemnly. "...I'm still wondering if I should even be alive… Heck, I can't help but wonder why my luck came through now of all times..."

"Oh, who cares..." Rocky whispered, playfully nipping at Marshall's ears. "I mean, your luck isn't great. But aren't you glad it came through?! I mean, I know I am! We all are! And the rest of the town? They will be too!"

Marshall couldn't help but crack a slight smile while sitting up. "Rocky… do you think… I deserve to have come back?"

Rocky noticeably froze, before pulling away and looking Marshall straight in the eyes with an appalled expression. "Wh-what's THAT supposed to mean?!" Rocky stammered.

"W-well..." Marshall continued, despite his intimidation at Rocky's expression. "I've been thinking about this ever since Skye left… Ever since I got back, everything's felt so… heavy… And everyone I've seen has been so… depressed… And it's all because I'm such a klutz!" Marshall pounded a paw on the bed in frustration. "If I wasn't so clumsy, none of this would be happening! Nobody would be sad! Nobody would be angry at each other! I caused all this because I can't climb a ladder!" Marshall slowly looked down as the image of an angry Skye resurfaced in both of the pups' heads. "Maybe it was better that you didn't look for me… I… I don't deserve to be back here..."

The silence in the air was long and deafening. Marshall only looked Rocky in the face after a long period of time, but it was long enough to see that Rocky's face had turned from appalled to enraged. It was also long enough to see Rocky shaking on the spot. In the blink of an eye, Marshall found himself thrown to the side as something violently struck his cheek.

"AGH-! OWWWWW-! Wha-?!"

Marshall's eyes steadily stopped spinning from the force of whatever had just hit him, allowing him to look up to see Rocky holding one of his front paws slightly above the ground with the same angry expression. After his brain had recovered from being scrambled, he quickly realised that Rocky had just slapped him across the face.

"Marshall..." Rocky slowly, but very sternly began. "...do… not… EVER... Let me hear you. Say something like that. Again."

"Wh… I- Y- Wh… Ro..." Marshall stammered, the adrenaline of Rocky's thunderous slap still not having subsided.

"We all got that depressed for a reason! That kind of accident could've happened to any of us! How many times has Skye nearly crashed or Chase gotten caught in some kinda trap?! HUH?!"

Rocky was continuing to shake, with small tears of rage pooling in his eyes.

"I-" Marshall began.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING THIS WAS YOUR FAULT!" Rocky interrupted loudly. "WE DIDN'T LOOK FOR YOU BECAUSE WE WERE ALL SO SURE YOU WERE DEAD! THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU WERE CLUMSY! THIS COULD'VE HAPPENED TO ANY ONE OF US!"

Now Rocky was fully weeping, having shoved his face straight into Marshall's. Marshall could only stare on like a deer in the beam of a pair of headlights.

"SO DON'T YOU DARE SAY WE'D BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU! DON'T THINK FOR SO MUCH AS A SECOND THAT YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE HERE! DO! NOT! THINK! THAT! WE! DON'T! LOVE! YOU!"

Rocky had made a good effort to keep himself from crying during his screaming fit, but a few seconds after his last word, the floodgates broke and the grey-furred pup finally broke down crying again. The speckled pup in front of him ended up joining in not long after. Not only was he frightened by seeing Rocky fly into a rage the way he did, but he had begun to feel guilty after setting Rocky off, however accidentally.

The two pups quickly scrambled into a fresh embrace, crying on each other's shoulders as they vented the pain that they were feeling. It took about five minutes for the two to calm down enough to speak again.

"Rocky I… I- I'm… I'm sorry..." Marshall whimpered.

"...no, Marshall… I'M sorry…" Rocky whined. "You only just got back here and I'm screaming at you?!"

"Hey, I shouldn't have said that… I… I don't know what I was thinking… I should be thanking you for setting me straight."

"...it really wasn't your fault, Marshall… If Cali had jumped on my face, I would've panicked too… Most of us would have... And… your job is probably one of the most dangerous out of all of us..."

"Yeah… I… I'd forgotten that until now, you know? I just wish I'd remembered sooner..."

The two had paused for a few seconds before Rocky spoke up again.

"I-It… it hurt, you know? I mean… I tried to help Skye where I could, but… I mean… I couldn't take losing you, either..."

* * *

" _C'mon… Urgh… Al… most… urgh! Got it!"_

_Rocky panted and wiped some nonexistant sweat from his forehead after pushing a piece of a new and improved catapult into place. He had to keep trying to invent to distract himself from the new reality that he lived in. The new reality where one of his closest friends had been ignominiously killed in the line of duty. Not once had he stopped to give any credit to the thought of one of their deaths, but now, it was all he could think about._

_He had to distract himself somehow. He'd already attempted to speak to Chase and Ryder, but while his efforts to talk to Chase didn't elicit so much as a peep from the closed Pup House, his attempt to talk to Ryder earned him nothing but a vicious and undeserved tongue-lashing that drove the pair of them to tears. Rocky saw this same lashing as the byproduct of all of them wallowing in the despair of their friend's death. Rocky still had two younger pups looking to him and Skye to comfort them. Rocky had to avoid the same pitfalls however he could. He had to do something. Anything._

_To this end, Rocky had been inventing nonstop, inbetween bouts of comforting the distraught Zuma and Rubble. Looking for any kind of excuse to work on an invention, he started to revisit old designs, rebuilding them from the ground up. Trying to take his mind off of his sadness and anger at losing Marshall. Rocky was halfway through, managing to slide a length of timber into a hole that he'd made in the body of the slowly-forming catapult._

" _Right… Time to cut this down to size. Arf, arf! Saw!"_

_At Rocky's command, a saw sprang forth from his Pup Pack. Deciding on a place to cut the wood after rolling the catapult ninety degrees so that it stood upright once more, Rocky set the saw in place and watched as it moved back and forth across the now-vertical beam. But as much as he tried to focus on the task at hand, he soon found his thoughts drifting back to Marshall. He thought back to all the times that Marshall had worked together with him, all the times that Marshall had been there when Rocky needed him and all the times that Marshall accidentally soaked Rocky with his water cannons. Rocky didn't notice his eyes watering at the memories. All he could think about was what he wouldn't give to have that happen again. Rocky always hated getting sprayed by Marshall, but he could never truly be mad at him for it. After all, that was just Marshall._

" _AAAGGHHHHH!!!"_

_Rocky was violently dragged back to the real world when pain suddenly shot up his paws. He looked down to realise that he'd completely neglected to move his paws out of the way of the heavy plank of wood. His thoughts of his fallen friend had caused him to make an easily-avoidable error in rolling the catapult frame upright again. And when the saw had finished chewing through the wood, it dropped down and landed squarely on his light-grey front paws. But as much as they stung, they didn't compare to how Rocky was feeling mentally._

_As his front paws throbbed from having a plank dropped on them, something inside of Rocky snapped. All of the sadness and anger he'd been desperately trying to keep at bay engulfed him all at once. The last lingering thread of his patience had been brutally cut down and with a scream of rage, Rocky lunged at his creation and violently slapped it to the ground._

_Rocky continued to scream in fury as he tore his invention to pieces and smashed it into splinters. Not caring for the sharp bits of catapult sticking into him, he soon found himself standing among the wreckage of his failed invention breathing heavily. Unable to take even looking at the pile of debris around him, Rocky turned around, tore off his Pup Pack and moved to stomp towards his Pup House._

_However, the mixed breed stopped cold as his eyes caught sight of something he'd been desperately trying to avoid looking at. He'd walked out to the front of the Lookout to get some space away to work on his invention, but when he turned around, he couldn't stop himself from staring at the sight of Marshall's Pup House, stuffed to the seams with tributes to the town's fallen hero._

_Skye had moved to get Marshall's truck back only yesterday, but almost as soon as she'd returned it to its rightful place at the Lookout was it filled full of flowers, candles, cards and even Marshall's teddy and a huge portrait of his smiling face, all from the people of Adventure Bay. The thought that that same truck would likely be driven by another pup in the future already made Rocky feel like vomiting, but the giant reminder that he was never going to see his friend again proved too much for the grey-furred pup. Rocky felt his legs give out from underneath him before he covered his eyes with his front paws and began to wail as loudly as he could. Rocky had spent as long as he could trying to be strong, but he couldn't keep it up forever. Now his pain had caught up with him, leaving him bawling like the distraught young child he was._

" _Rocky…?"_

_Rocky didn't bother to uncover his eyes, but he knew that the voice he'd just heard belonged to Skye, drawn outside by the loud crying._

" _Oh, Rocky… Rocky, Rocky, Rocky..."_

_Skye's voice was full of sympathy as she lay down next to Rocky and draped her arms over him, burying her face in his back fur. Another task for her to take care of inbetween her duties, Skye sympathetically nuzzled Rocky as the pup cried his eyes out._

* * *

Marshall could only sympathetically nuzzle Rocky's fuzzy face and weep slightly at hearing the extent of how Rocky was hurt.

"You're clumsy… and you soak me… a lot… but… that's just you, Marshall…" Rocky whispered in a strained voice. "There's only one you… So… losing you… left a hole in the team… and all of us… w-we couldn't replace you…" Rocky's voice suddenly grew a more hateful edge. "Th-the thought… of someone taking your place just made me SICK… We c-couldn't… couldn't let anyone… t-t-take y-y-your place-!"

"Rocky, easy, easy!" Marshall yelled, seeing that Rocky was about to start crying once again. When he was sure that he had Rocky's attention, the dalmatian took on a more reassuring tone.

"In the end, it doesn't really matter… There's no point thinking about replacing me or what could've been. There's no more point thinking about what the team would be like without me. Because now it's all pointless. I'm back. And I'm not letting myself get taken away again."

Rocky couldn't keep himself from sniffling. "Y-you're right, Marshall…" Rocky quavered. "Just… please… promise me you'll never get into so much danger again… I… couldn't handle losing you again… Please… never leave us?" Rocky directed a pleading gaze straight into Marshall's eyes.

"I promise…" Marshall whispered, pulling Rocky in for another hug. "I won't let you down, Rocky."

"Ohh, thank you, thank you, thank you..." Rocky frantically whispered, hugging Marshall back and nuzzling him as hard as he could. Soon, Rocky lay still in the bed, holding Marshall and breathing gently, feeling calmer and happier than he had in days.

"And Marshall…" Rocky whispered contentedly. "We all know you're irreplaceable. You're the world's greatest fire pup... Don't let anyone tell you otherwise…"

Marshall couldn't find the words to reply to such a compliment. Instead he turned his head to lick Rocky's cheek and tightly nuzzle the mixed breed in gratitude. Soon, the room fell silent with both pups basking in the glow of a reunion long-thought impossible.


	5. Drowned, Destroyed

The situation was perhaps more peaceful than it had been in a long time for the two pups. For both Marshall and Rocky, the time they spent hugging each other closely beneath the comforting warmth of Ryder's bedsheets was something that they wanted to keep going forever. But be that as it may, Marshall still had three more pups that he wanted to see. The only thing that reminded him of this fact was the light snoring coming from Rocky.

"Hey! Rocky! Don't fall asleep on me!" Marshall said amusedly, lightly shaking the mixed breed.

"...hmm?" Rocky mumbled, before suddenly jolting awake fully. "Ah! Ugh… Sorry, Marshall!" Rocky gave the dalmatian an embarrassed grin.

"Heh heh… No worries. I mean, I haven't seen you look so peaceful for a long time."

Rocky laughed gently before lovingly bumping his nose against Marshall's. "Yeah… That's all because you're back with us… I mean, it's way more peaceful up here than..." Rocky suddenly got a sad, worried expression. "...down below..."

Marshall's face fell. "Down below? What happened down there?"

"Well… Skye… suddenly got really mad at Ryder and Chase..."

Marshall's eyebrows suddenly arched. "Oh! Yeah, Skye looked really upset… She said she was saying that while I was gone, she was left to do everything by herself… She said that you really tried and she couldn't expect Rubble and Zuma to do anything..."

"Well, neither could I. I mean, they're both so young and…" Rocky began to whine. "...losing you… it broke them… So the last thing they needed to see was… Skye yelling at Ryder and Chase down there..."

Soon, Marshall started whining, too. He thought that his return would make everything better, but from what he was hearing, it was plain to see that it wasn't going to be so simple.

"Rocky… What… EXACTLY did Skye say?"

Rocky explained the specifics of Skye's outburst to Marshall, who only looked more and more horrified as Rocky went on. Like the others, Marshall didn't think of Skye as the type of pup to get angry with any of them, and hearing about her yelling at Ryder and Chase of all people was nothing short of surreal and frightening. After Rocky had concluded his story, Marshall paused, before taking a deep breath.

"Rocky… change of plans..."

Despite the sea of tension that was waiting for the grey-furred pup down on the Lookout's ground floor, most of Rocky's anger and sadness had melted away. While the pup's painful memories would likely persist for a very long time, now he had the memory of his joyous reunion with his supposedly-dead friend to counteract them. But as Rocky descended down the elevator, it occurred to him that he now knew what it was like to lose a brother. As did everyone else. Silently, Rocky vowed to himself to never take his love for any of his friends for granted. He never wanted to feel the pain of losing a family member again.

The elevator eventually came to a halt at the ground floor, revealing the sobering sight of Skye sitting separately from Rubble and Zuma on the other side of the room, who were lying on their bellies next to each other looking at the floor. The cockapoo was staring intently at the wall, clearly trying to avoid the gaze of the other pups. She was clearly ashamed of making a massive scene in front of the other pups.

But perhaps the worst part of it was Chase, who had been reduced to a huddled ball in the corner of the room, looking away from all of them. Skye's words had obviously cut the shepherd deeply. So deeply, in fact, that he'd been reduced back to the hollow shell that he had been for the past three days. Rocky directed a scornful glare at Skye, who still had yet to look at him.

"(Hope you're proud of yourself.)" Rocky spat internally, before swallowing his anger and clearing his throat, thinking to break the ice with a question.

"Guys? Where'd Ryder go?" he asked, having noticed that their caretaker had vanished without a trace.

A long silence ensued before someone answered him. "He… stepped out..." Rubble said quietly. "Said he had a call to make..."

Getting yelled at by one of his pups was not his idea of a good time, Ryder had to confess. Even less so when he knew that he deserved every word of it. His pups desperately needed him and what did he do? Tuck into his shell and attack anyone who tried to prise him out of it. He didn't deserve to talk to them after all he'd done. Or rather, all he hadn't done. In fact, he didn't even deserve to look at them. Ryder was a pillar groaning under the weight of his own guilt.

But he couldn't leave Marshall alone. The boy refused to squander the second chance that he was given. He'd already failed five of his pups. The least he could do was at least try to be there for the sixth in his time of need. Perhaps the pups could forgive him for being such a horrible owner, but right now, Ryder simply didn't have it in him to try and get close to them again.

For the time being, however, Ryder couldn't keep the rest of the town in the dark for too much longer. As much as he felt like the long knives were out for him, if the town found out that Marshall had actually survived, perhaps they wouldn't try to run him out for being such a failure? But first, Ryder felt obligated to fulfil Marshall's wish to see Katie.

Ryder was still amazed that his Pup Pad still booted up after he'd flung it against the wall the day that Marshall "died". It had a series of massive cracks branching across the screen, but amazingly, the device was still otherwise in one piece. Watching as it sprang to life before his eyes, Ryder abruptly winced when the screen greeted him with 51 missed calls. Maybe they were calling to demand to know how he could let his pup die? Ryder braced himself as he swiped through the plethora of icons.

The usual suspects seemed to take up the entire list. Katie, Mayor Goodway, Carlos, Jake, even a couple from Mayor Humdinger of all people. Ryder could only scoff. "(Probably calling to gloat...)" he thought venemously. But he shook it off for the time being. He wondered if the camera still worked as he apprehensively tapped Katie's icon.

Ryder's heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. Katie was probably going to be furious with him. After all, he ended up brushing her off in his grief. He barely remembered what she said, but she was obviously worried about him when she tried to talk to him in his room. Why else would she have braved seeing him after Skye had probably told her how unstable he was? Before Ryder could worry any further, the screen lit up to show a frantic-looking blonde girl.

"Ryder! Hey! It's you!" Katie shouted in disbelief.

"...yeah… er… hi… Katie..." Ryder stammered uncertainly.

Katie's brow twisted into a glare. "'Hi'?! 'HI'?! You vanish after a pup dies and leave us worrying about you for three days and the first thing you say is 'hi'?!"

"...s-sorry..."

"Don't you know how worried we've been about you?! How could you just suffer alone?! How could you push us all out like that?!"

Katie was indeed furious, but not for the reasons that Ryder was expecting. Ryder looked away from the screen, trying his hardest not to shed tears again. After a pause, Katie let off a hefty sigh.

"Look, I'm really sorry for the yelling… But we've all been so worried about you and the pups… And… I'm SO sorry about Marshall… But… you can't take something like this on your own! We could've tried to help you! I mean, look at you, you look terrible!"

Ryder continued to listen as Katie reprimanded him.

"Losing Marshall's hurt US, too. I know… you've gotta be in so much pain..."

"(You're not wrong...)" Ryder thought.

"...but please… don't run away from us. Please, let us help you… Like you've always helped us..."

Ryder felt his lip trembling. Katie had desperately wanted to help him and the pups, and all he did was ignore her. Pretend she wasn't there. Ryder tried to shove down how horrible he felt before answering her.

"Katie, I… I..." Ryder choked, trying his hardest not to cry. "...I'm so sorry… I… I'm a horrible friend, aren't I?"

Another hefty sigh came over the Pup Pad.

"Ryder… don't be stupid… You're not horrible… You're just hurt. That's why I'm so upset with you… We want to help you heal… But you won't let us… That hurts just as bad as losing Marshall."

Ryder gulped. "Well… how about… How about I bring the pups with me to the pet parlor? I think… well, they all could probably do with baths..." Ryder had to fight to keep the wry smirk off of his face. "...and there's one who could REALLY use it."

To Ryder's surprise, Katie gave a sad smile. "Of course, Ryder. That sounds great. When were you thinking of coming?"

Ryder tilted his head in thought. "Oh… about an hour or so. That sound OK?"

"OK, then… Yeah… I'll get everything ready." Katie then gave a firm glare. "You better not stand me up, you hear?"

Ryder held up a hand. "I hear, I hear. See you soon."

Ryder swiftly hung up before a telltale grin spread across his face. One of the first he'd had in a long time. He couldn't keep from giggling to himself. "'Stand you up', huh? You're gonna stand up, alright..."

The silence in the lobby of the Lookout was thick enough to cut with a knife. After Rubble had answered Rocky, the ice had quickly formed yet again after Rocky had failed to break it. Deciding that it was probably best to get things over with quickly, Rocky spoke up once more after moving in front of Zuma and Rubble.

"Anyway, guys… Marshall's changed his plans a little. Zuma, Rubble, you're both up."

Zuma looked at Rocky with some confusion, finally tearing his golden eyes away from the floor.

"...both?"

"Uh-huh." Rocky beamed. "He wants to talk to both of you at the same time."

Rubble immediately sprang to his feet. "Really?!"

"Really really." Rocky said with a smile.

Rocky had barely had the chance to blink before the two pups had disappeared from in front of him and ended up on the elevator.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Zuma barked impatiently.

"Move!" Rubble added, before the elevator seemed to obey him, doing exactly that.

"Mawshall!" Zuma screamed.

"We're coming, buddy!" Rubble yelled as the elevator disappeared out of sight.

Rocky could have sworn that he saw the two pups start to cry as the elevator took them towards where their friend was resting. Despite the tension the room was drowning in, the remaining pups all smiled to a certain extent. For some reason, seeing the two youngest pups even slightly happier than they once were had a way of lighting up even the darkest of skies.

It was fortunate that only Rubble and Zuma were seeing each other be so impatient. Both were uncontrollably crying as they yelled at the elevator to move faster. They'd never been known as terribly impatient pups, but when the friend that they'd spent the last three days crying over lay a few feet away from them, nothing could get them closer to him as fast as they would like.

Between visits, Ryder's room had fallen silent as Marshall was left alone once more. The spotted pup could only stare into space as he reflected on everything that had happened: whimpering at the memories of being violently swept down the river and into the rocks that occupied it, along with the painful hike back home, with no-one to help and no shoulders to cry on. That kind of thing wasn't anything that any of them should have had to go through.

Then his thoughts turned to everyone else. He'd wondered if they'd all given him up for dead during his trek, and wondered how they must have been feeling all throughout. And all the tales the pups had been telling him answered his questions perfectly. It was as if the Lookout – no – the town itself had changed in the course of a few hours. All of the pups were just hollow shells of themselves. And they all seemed so distraught and guilty. How could Skye blame herself like that? Did Chase seriously isolate himself entirely after seeing him fall? Did Rocky really mean it when he said that the thought of replacing him made him feel sick? And Marshall dreaded to think of how Everest might have taken the whole thing. And had Tracker and Carlos even heard the news of his survival, yet?

But it was then that Marshall came back down to Earth when he heard the frantic yelling of two young pups coming down the hall and through the door to Ryder's room. The yelling grew louder and clearer until a brown labrador and a light-brown bulldog came bursting through the dog door like a pair of cars through a wall. The two tearful, shouting pups got halfway across the room before they saw the frightened look that Marshall was giving them and stopping in their tracks, continuing to cry, but staring at him in relative silence.

"Guys..." Marshall began. "...Rubble… Zuma… I… I know you missed me… And I missed you, too… But… please don't cry..."

Ironically, Marshall found himself getting choked up as he looked at the teary-eyed faces of the two youngest pups on the team.

"...y-you know I can't stand to see anyone cry… W-we're… back together, so… Th-there's no need to… to… c-cry..."

Marshall was feeling less and less sure of himself. He was unable to look away from the crying pups in front of him, and before he knew it, tears began to spill from his eyes, too.

"G-Guys… S-Stop looking me at that… Y-you know… h-how easy it is to set- Guys! S-Stop it!"

But they never did. Rubble and Zuma continued to stare at the speckled pup as tears continued to stream down their faces and their whimpering continued. Marshall soon found his defenses breaking down to dust as he fell forward onto his belly and covered his eyes.

"DARN IT, GUYS! DARN IT, DARN IT, DAARN IIIT!!"

Rubble and Zuma barely needed any more of an invitation than that. Immediately, they began to wail once again and threw themselves onto the bed, clamping onto Marshall's sides and squeezing him for dear life.

Ryder's room had gotten louder than ever with three pups bawling their eyes out at the prospect of reuniting with each other. None of them really took notice of how loud they were being, and Marshall similarly failed to take notice of the fact that he was being crushed by the atomic bearhug sandwich that he was serving as the filling for. The whole thing was utterly surreal for Rubble and Zuma, too. They'd spent three days crying over how unfair it was to lose Marshall, and now here he was, as if nothing had happened.

The process was slow, but eventually, everyone had been reduced to worn-out sniffling and hiccuping. Rubble and Zuma had only let up slightly on their bone-cracking hug, just enough to let Marshall breathe, but they didn't dare let go of their spotted friend.

"G-guys…" Marshall sniffled. "I-I… I'm so… happy to… s-see you..."

"S-S-S… Same..." Zuma sobbed.

"W-we all… thought you were dead..." Rubble whimpered.

"I nearly… nearly was… I… I'm sorry I… put you both through that..."

"What?!" Zuma yelled. "Why are you apologising?! W-what part of this was your fault?!"

"B-because everyone's been so… so sad… Because I… fell in that river… n-not even you'd be able to save me from that, Zuma! This w-wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for me!" Marshall sobbed, his friends' tears reminding him again of how badly everyone had taken his loss.

"S-Stop blaming yourself!" Rubble sobbed. "D-don't say such S-S-STUPID things! This wasn't your fault at all!"

"B-but-!"

"NO!! I don't wanna heaw it!" Zuma tightened his hold on Marshall. "It wasn't your fault! This could've happened to anyone! End of stowy!"

"It was all an accident, Marshall! D-don't EVER let me hear you blaming yourself for it!" Rubble commanded, doing the same.

Marshall didn't say anything more after that. He simply lay back and wept, basking in his friends' love for him. Hearing them deny anything being his fault certainly made him feel better, but right now, all he wanted to do was just lay back and hug the friends that he'd been torn apart from for so long.

"I… I'm just so happy to be back, you know?" Marshall whispered with a sad smile.

Zuma chuckled softly. "You… don't know the half of it, dude..."

Rubble added some soft laughter of his own. "YOU'RE happy you're back? Heh, heh… Try saying that after we lost you..."

Marshall's face fell once more. "Well… what's the other half I don't know?"

For a moment, there was silence, before Zuma whimpered and Rubble sighed softly.

"Mawshall…" Zuma whimpered. "...do you… WEALLY wanna know?"

"Zuma, if you keep holding it in, it's just gonna eat away at you." Marshall replied firmly.

"OK, Marshall…" Rubble whispered sadly. "You wanna know how we were feeling? Well..."

* * *

" _It… It's beautiful, Mayor Goodway…" Skye said, her voice strained by all of the grief that she was feeling._

" _Marshall would've loved it..." Rocky added, his voice wavering all over the place._

_The pups could tell how badly Marshall's death had affected Mayor Goodway. For one thing, she was dressed in black as opposed to her usual blue, and she wasn't even carrying her purse with her. Once, the thought of Mayor Goodway being unaccompanied by her purse chicken would've been unfathomable, but in a time as dark as this, nobody could bring themselves to take any notice. Least of all the pups, since Mayor Goodway was showing them an image on her phone._

_The image consisted of a giant cast-iron statue of Marshall, grinning confidently with his water cannons rising from his back, standing tall and proud in his firefighter gear. A fitting memorial to such a resilient pup. Confident and smiling to the very end. On the statue's base was a golden plaque bearing an image of the Paw Patrol's logo, flanked on each side by Marshall's Pup Tag emblem._

" _It's… good that you like it, pups..." Mayor Goodway replied sadly, putting her phone away. "...but we're still waiting for what you want to put on the plaque."_

" _I… don't really think anything we say about him's gonna be enough..." Rocky said, lowering his head to stare at the ground._

" _Can we… get back to you later on that one?" Skye asked._

" _Take your time, pups." Mayor Goodway replied gently. "But remember that I need your answer by 5 o'clock..."_

_The entire time, Zuma and Rubble had been watching silently from the sidelines. They hadn't made a peep since Mayor Goodway had arrived to discuss Marshall's funeral arrangements with the remaining members of the group, but anger was uncontrollably bubbling up inside Rubble at the constant reminders of the friend that was so cruelly stolen from them._

" _WHO CARES?!!" Rubble finally screamed, his anger boiling over._

_All three of the group jumped at the abrupt outburst. "Rubble!" Skye shouted scoldingly._

" _WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! THIS STUPID STATUE'S NOT GONNA BRING MARSHALL BACK!"_

" _Rubble, don't yell!" Rocky shouted. "Don't you want Marshall to be remembered?!"_

" _NO!" Rubble screamed back, bursting into tears of heartbroken rage. "I DON'T WANT STATUES, I DON'T WANT FLOWERS, AND I DON'T WANT THIS STUPID FUNERAL! I! JUST! WANT! MARSHALL! BACK!"_

_With that, the crying bulldog violently whipped around and charged away to the back of the Lookout._

" _Rubble, wait!" Skye yelled after Rubble._

" _Come back!" Rocky added._

_Everyone could only stare in silence at this rare outburst from their usually-sweet construction pup. Marshall's demise had had an impact on all of them, but Rubble and Zuma were in near-constant tears from the whole thing. How cruel it was, everyone thought, that they'd have to experience the pain of bereavement at such a young age. The poor pair clearly had no idea what to do with themselves._

" _Zuma?" Mayor Goodway piped up. "Are you feeling alright?"_

" _...hm?" Zuma replied vacantly, turning back to face the Mayor. "I-I… I don't know… But… he's wight… I-I don't want any of this eithew..." Zuma was clearly building up for another tearful breakdown. "I-It's not… not f-fair that Mawshall… that Mawshall's gone… I… I-I can't take it, eithew… I… I… I-I..."_

_Zuma's trademark coolheadedness had failed him once again. The labrador was incapable of completing his sentence before bursting into tears and running away to the back of the Lookout himself._

" _Zuma!" Skye and Rocky shouted._

_The three could only watch on as Zuma disappeared over the horizon, crying as hard as he could, their own fragile hearts once again crumbling into pieces._

_On one side of the Lookout, Rubble had thrown himself to the floor, screaming as loudly as his lungs would let him. His head was filled with the happy memories that he'd shared with Marshall. All of the rescues he'd done with him. All of the bad times they helped each other through. All of the joyous times that they shared. Gone. Snatched away from him in the blink of an eye._

" _Rubble?" A concerned, feminine voice came from behind the bawling bulldog. Skye had swiftly followed behind Rubble after his outburst._

" _WHY, SKYE?! WHY DID MARSHALL DIE?! WHY?! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Rubble roared without even looking at her. "HOW COULD HE JUST… DISAPPEAR?! HOW?!"_

" _I don't know, Rubble!" Skye shouted, lying down next to him and wrapping her front paws around him. "I… just don't know..."_

" _IT'S NOT FAAAAIIIR! I WANT MARSHALL BAAAAACK!! WAAAAAAAAAHH!!"_

" _I know, Rubble… It's really not… It's… not fair at all..." Skye could only whisper agreement as she held the wailing bulldog close, letting him cry out his rage and heartbreak._

_Zuma, for his part, lay a little ways away from Rubble and Skye, curled into a tight ball and crying tears of his own. Everything had fallen apart around him after that day. His once happy home had been viciously robbed of its innocence. His owner and his best friend had both not been seen or heard from in days. And above all, his other best friend, one of his other brothers was now dead. Gone forever without leaving so much as a body behind. Zuma was too busy crying to react immediately to the warm presence curling around him._

" _Just let it all out buddy..." Rocky's voice gently instructed. "It's OK..."_

" _N-no it's not!" Zuma shot back. "It'll never-! N-N-N-Never be OK!"_

_Rocky couldn't find the words to reply to the distraught labrador. All his could do was rub Zuma's back to try and comfort him as best he could._

" _Wh-What did Mawshall do to desewve this?! Why-?! Why did this happen, Wocky?! Mawshall was… HE WAS OUR BWOTHER! What did we do… t-to desewve losing him?!"_

" _I… I..." Rocky stammered. "I have… no idea, Zuma… I… I just couldn't tell you..."_

_Zuma took a huge, uneven gulp of air, trying to keep his sentences as coherent as he could. "M-Mawshall… Mawshall… nevew huwt anyone, Wocky… He… nevew huwt anyone..."_

" _You're right, Zuma..." Rocky sadly concurred, fighting back the urge to tear up himself. "Marshall… went way too soon..."_

* * *

Marshall couldn't help but weep further as his heart bled for the two pups.

"Oh, Rubble… Zuma..." Marshall sobbed. "I-I had n-no idea..."

"So… Glad you asked?" Zuma asked.

"It… was so awful..." Rubble whimpered. "I mean… all that time… w-we couldn't even do anything… Heck, I didn't even eat anything for those three days..."

Marshall froze up, before bolting upright and staring at Rubble in horror.

"WH-WHAT?!!" Marshall shrieked.

Rubble flinched back in fright, before trying his hardest to continue. "H-How could I think about food…? I-I mean… losing you was… s-so terrible I… didn't… eat… a… morsel..."

Rubble started to trail off. His sense of terror was building more and more. Marshall was clearly going to kill him.

Marshall stared at Rubble for a while longer, the whites of his eyes being visible for miles.

"Rubble, how could you?!" Marshall barked. "You just starved yourself for three days?! That's not what I would've wanted at all! I know you had it bad, but that's no excuse for starving yourself! What do you think woulda happened if you got sick from not eating?! Huh?!"

"Mawshall!" Zuma shouted. "Stop yelling at Wubble!"

Marshall immediately froze up upon hearing Zuma's demand. The dalmatian was so lost in his anger at hearing the extent of his friends not taking care of themselves that he never noticed Rubble looking genuinely frightened of him. Marshall felt guilt run him through like a harpoon to the chest.

He always worried about the pups and their well-being, and he was angry enough at hearing that Chase hadn't eaten so much as a scrap since his "death", but hearing that not even the eternally-hungry Rubble had touched his food hit Marshall hard. Beginning to cry again, Marshall drew the bulldog back into a warm, regret-filled hug.

"Rubble… I'm so sorry for the yelling…" Marshall sobbed remorsefully. "But… y-you know I hate it when you guys don't take care of yourselves… And… Chase said that he wasn't eating either, but…"

Rubble didn't reply other than returning Marshall's hug, crying into his friend's neck, feeling regret at not taking proper care of himself. But then, a surprise embrace from behind caught Marshall slightly off-guard, as Zuma buried his snout into the scruff of Marshall's neck.

"Mawshall..." Zuma began guiltily. "I… I didn't look after myself, eithew… None of us did, weally… Wyder was still looking out for us, but… We all… couldn't take losing you… That's why… we didn't eat… or, well… ate neawly nothing..."

"Z-Zuma…" Marshall sobbed. "Please… promise me… Promise you'll… n-never do that again… I know… y-you were all hurt, b-but… PLEASE… always take care of yourselves… d-don't ever starve yourselves like that again?"

"Only… if you pwomise never to leave us…" Zuma whimpered. "Please… d-don't… don't ever make us go thwough losing you again..."

"Marshall, we..." Rubble stammered. "We'll… take care of ourselves… if y-you take care of yourself… P-Please… n-never… never… d-disappear… again..."

Marshall smiled sadly as he moved Rubble around him on the bed, and shifted positions to throw his front paws around both Zuma and Rubble, squeezing them both as hard as he could.

"It's a deal, guys..."

Now the two pups were shedding tears of a different kind. These were quiet tears of happiness at the peacefulness of the warm group hug that they finally shared. Tears of joy at the miracle of having Marshall back.

The only kinds of tears that all three pups wanted to shed from that moment on.


	6. Crushed Copper

Another few minutes had passed of the three pups sharing a three-way group hug. For such young pups, Marshall had to admit, Rubble and Zuma had a seriously tight grip. But then, it seemed that the euphoria of seeing a pup presumed to be dead for three days had a way of getting people and pups to forget their physical limits. Not that Marshall particularly wanted to let any of the pups go after spending three days wondering if he'd ever see them again. And especially not after they had all suffered so badly from the incident.

"Guys?" Marshall began. "Are you… gonna be OK?"

For a few seconds, there was a palpable silence in the air. As if the pups had no idea of what to say.

"I… I dunno, Mawshall..." Zuma whispered sadly. "I mean, I don't think I've evew been so happy… We… all thought you were gone fowever… But even though you came back… I'm not sure I'll evew get ovew losing… someone… like… that..." Zuma's voice grew more unstable with every passing word.

"Zuma's right..." Rubble continued. "I don't think I've ever been as sad as I have for the last three days… When Chase said that you'd died… It felt like the world fell apart… It felt like nothing would ever make us happy again… We… W-We can't just FORGET something like that…" Rubble's lip began to quiver. "I… know you're fine, now… but… all those days, thinking you were dead? I… I'll never… be able… to forget about… th-them..."

"Guys, c'mon…" Marshall soothed, noticing the two about to cry again, squeezing them both tightly. "It's OK… Don't cry..." Marshall punctuated his words with a loving nuzzle to the pair of them.

"I get that it's gonna take time to get over this… It took me a couple of days to get over a bad nightmare, after all… And heck, you're right, this kinda thing is impossible to forget. But it's not impossible to get over this. Because you have me back to help you. I'll be with you every step of the way. I promise. So please. Don't be sad about losing me, anymore?"

Zuma and Rubble hesitated before simultaneously returning Marshall's nuzzles.

"We'll twy, Mawshall..." Zuma whispered.

We'll do our best..." Rubble added at the same time.

The two young pups were extremely hesitant to let Marshall go after finally reuniting with him. They took a hefty amount of convincing to finally let Marshall go and return downstairs to send one more pup to talk to him. Marshall had to tell them that he wasn't going to disappear on them again, along with solemly swearing to never die on them to finally convince them to descend the elevator to go and get Chase.

Neither of the pups said a word to one another as the elevator lowered. In fact, both of them were all smiles as they stood a few millimeters from each other's sides. As Rubble had said, following Marshall's "death" it felt like the world had fallen apart around them. And now it felt like the world was slowly being put back together, along with the pieces of their broken hearts. But the pups' faces fell when they finally reached the bottom of the elevator and were greeted with the sight of a Lookout as awkwardly-silent and sombre as ever. Chase curled into a ball in the corner, Skye trying to stare through the wall, and Rocky lying looking towards the door. Perhaps hoping for Ryder to come back in?

"Pups?" Zuma asked after a few seconds.

"Guys? Hello?" Rubble added.

Neither pup received a response. Everyone remained as still as ever. Nobody even flinched.

"(What's happening to us?)" Zuma thought sadly.

"(Things were supposed to get better...)" Rubble internally whined.

Slowly, the pups made their way over to the brown ball of fur in the corner of the room.

"Hey… Chase? Dude?" Zuma whispered.

"Chase?" Rubble added.

Chase didn't say anything in response. He only stirred slightly at the mention of his name.

"...Marshall wants to see you." Rubble continued, hoping that he'd get at least some kind of reaction from the shepherd.

"C'mon, dude. You don't want him to see you all sad, do you?" Zuma went on.

For a few seconds more, there was further silence. But after that, Chase slowly got to his paws, still without looking at Rubble and Zuma, staring vacantly ahead with dull eyes before slowly shuffling towards the elevator. But as Zuma watched Chase walk away, a question that he'd had simmering in his mind for a few minutes continued to nag him. To the extent that the curious labrador found himself unable to take it anymore.

"Chase?" Zuma called. "Befowe you go, there's something I wanna know..."

Chase stopped, but still refused to look at Zuma. "...what is it?" he flatly replied.

Zuma shivered at Chase's empty tone before steeling himself. "Wubble told Mawshall that no-one was eating up thewe… But Mawshall said that you told him YOU weren't eating..."

Chase visibly cringed, realising what Zuma was about to ask him. Little did he realise that Zuma had attracted the undivided attention of Skye and Rocky.

"...Chase… how did Mawshall know that? When did you tell him?"

Chase's only immediate response was to swallow heavily. He was hoping that his admittedly selfish action of keeping Marshall to himself would be brushed under the carpet, and that everybody's shock at seeing Marshall alive would've pushed aside any questions of how long ago Chase had spoken to Marshall. But now the pups were outright asking about it. Chase couldn't dress up the fact that he'd deliberately not told the pups about Marshall so that he'd have a chance to talk to his best friend alone. Chase desperately wanted to tell a lie, but as the group's police pup, he'd been conditioned to avoid lying. Chase only had it in him to tell the truth.

"W-well…" Chase began shakily, visibly bracing himself. "I… I… I-I..."

"Chase, what is it?" Rocky interrupted. "What's wrong?"

"...I kept Marshall from you guys!" Chase finally snapped. "I left the Lookout last night to be alone! I went to Adventure Beach and… Marshall found me moping!" Chase paused and lowered his head in shame. "I… took him back to the Lookout… but… I didn't wake you guys… I… didn't tell you right away, because… I… I wanted to have Marshall to myself for a little while..."

The pups couldn't deny feeling slightly hurt as Chase confessed to them. Surely if Chase knew that Marshall was alive, he'd want them to know immediately? After all, the dalmatian's "death" had left every one of them entirely broken. How could he draw out their suffering and nightmares for longer?

"I wanted to talk to Marshall… I wanted to be there for him… To hear about how he got home alive… To tell him how we were after… that... I was gonna tell you guys later, but… I wanted to see Ryder, first. I wanted him to… come out of the funk I heard he was in..." Chase's voice began to waver. "I… was hurt, too and… it was only a few minutes, but… That's no excuse… I… dragged out your pain for no real reason… I could've woke you up and stopped your nightmares… But… I just… didn't… I'm… so sorry..."

Nothing but silence greeted the ending of Chase's confession. Chase was scared of turning around and seeing the hurt looks of the pups behind him, but they weren't going to disappear if he just ignored them for long enough. Slowly, Chase turned around to face the pups behind him, who he thought were probably going to tear him to pieces for being such a poor leader. But Chase quickly got more than he bargained for when his vision filled with the visage of a furious-looking cockapoo.

Skye had suddenly moved to be mere centimetres away from Chase, glaring at him with the intensity of the sun itself and shaking with rage, emitting a series of faint snarls to go with it. Chase felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"YOU?! KNEW?! MARSHALL?! WAS?! ALIVE?! AND?! DIDN'T?! EVEN?! TELL?! US?!" Skye roared.

Chase found himself too frightened to make a single sound. He didn't notice the frightened faces of the other pups behind him. He thought that the pups likely didn't have the best impression of him, but it seemed that this was the final straw. Before Chase could will his vocal cords to work, he found Skye had lunged forward and viciously shoved him to the floor with an enraged yell, reducing the shepherd to a crumpled heap.

"Stay away from me, Chase..." Skye hissed nastily.

All it took was those five words to completely shatter Chase's already-ailing spirit. As Skye's venemous words sunk in, Chase went from frightened to despondent in a few seconds flat, bursting into tears where he lay and running for the elevator as fast as he could, falling to the floor when he reached it and curling into a wailing ball. Chase's sorrowful screams still emanated through the elevator itself as it ascended out of sight.

The pups left at the bottom of the elevator stared in astonishment as Chase left their sights. Even Skye didn't quite expect Chase to react the way he did. Nor did she expect to feel the stabbing sensation of guilt quite as strongly as she did. Despite how angry she was at Chase and Ryder, Chase suddenly breaking down the way he did served as a rude awakening.

"Wh-? I… What… I-" Skye stammered.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!!" Rocky screamed, grabbing Skye's attention immediately. Now it was Rocky's turn to look completely incensed.

"How could you say that to him?! That was totally uncalled for!"

"'Uncalled for'?!" Skye spluttered. "Are you saying you were just fine with thinking Marshall was dead?! Are you saying Chase was in the right for letting us suffer?! He leaves us in the dark and you're sticking up for him?!"

"You know better than anyone how badly Chase was hurt!" Rocky shot back. "You saw how badly losing Marshall broke him like it did with the rest of us! I'm not saying he should've kept us in the dark, but there was no need to get like that with him!"

"'NO NEED'?! HE! LEFT! US! ALL! ALONE! He totally shut us out! We kept saying how worried we were about him and he completely ignored us all! We needed his help like he needed ours and he just left us to it! He just left us to suffer like Ryder did!"

"So that's clearly a good reason to scream in his face?! All you just did was make him feel even worse! We're supposed to helping each other through this! Chase was hurt worse than any of us! Marshall's his best friend, how do you think watching him die made him feel?! What kind of help was that?! How can you call yourself his friend when you keep yelling at him?!"

That question seemed to stop Skye cold. Rocky's initial yelling had only reignited her anger, but that question had quickly quenched it. Everything went quiet for a few seconds, before Rocky's anger turned more understated, but no less intense.

"You did what you could to keep our spirits up… I guess now you're done with that, huh?" Rocky asked icily. "Now you've decided to do your best to crush them? Congrats, you're off to a great start..."

"I don't need this from you!" Skye immediately spat back, before whipping around and stomping out of the door in a huff, leaving an infuriated mixed breed standing with a terrified bulldog and labrador in the Lookout's ground floor.

Ryder couldn't help but notice the vicious argument pouring out from the tower as he stood outside, vainly attempting to work up the courage to be in the same room as his pups again, especially with one pup who clearly hated him more than any of the others did. But he never expected that same pup to come storming out of the door, nearly tripping him up in the process. Ryder stared at the unexpectedly-angry pup as she continued on her way.

"What?!" Skye snapped angrily before storming towards her Pup House.

Ryder continued to stare on, his heart crumbling to pieces and tears prickling at his eyes.

"(What's going on…? What's happening to my pups…? How could I be such a terrible owner that this is happening…? Things were supposed to get better when Marshall got back...)"

Finally arriving at her Pup House, Skye thundered inside and angrily dropped to her belly facing the back of the structure. But in a few seconds, Skye's anger dissolved, turning into self-loathing.

"Urgh… Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!" Skye angrily chastised herself, knocking her head with her paw with each word. "What am I… What am I even doing?! How could I have said that?!"

Chase didn't even have the energy to move any further than the middle of the Lookout's top floor before his despair weighed him down and sent him curling into a foetal position on the floor. Not once did he open his eyes as tears flooded out of them. Nor did he stop wailing as his mind went into overdrive. Not only had shutting himself away in grief alienated him from the others, but now he'd completely burned bridges with them by selfishly keeping Marshall to himself. He couldn't even look to Ryder for comfort. Chase, for the first time, had absolutely no-one to turn to...

"CHASE?!"

...with the exception of perhaps one. Attracted outside by someone crying more loudly than even Rubble and Zuma combined, Marshall had left Ryder's room to investigate, only to feel his heart stop when he was greeted with the sight of an inconsolable Chase bawling on the floor. Bawling almost as hard as he was last night, for that matter.

"Wh-what's wrong?!" Marshall frantically asked, running up and throwing his front paws around the crying shepherd. "Wh-what the heck happened?!"

Marshall, of course, didn't get an immediate answer. Chase was crying too hard to even form words. He eventually managed to convince Chase to come back with him to Ryder's room and get comfortable in his bed, but still, tears continue to gush forth from Chase's eyes. Marshall had to try and calm Chase down somehow, but whatever had happened downstairs must have sent him fully over the edge.

"Chase… shhh… don't cry… it's OK..." Marshall whispered.

"NGHO ITPHOPH! AGHOMPLEGHTLEGH PHAE-! AEB PHUGH UH HUWWIB BUUPH! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

It was no use. Chase was completely incoherent. Marshall had only ever seen Chase cry as hard as this last night. But while those were tears of joy, it was clear that Chase was in utter despair this time. He was a broken pup. Now perhaps more than ever.

While trying to soothe Chase as best he could, Marshall thought long and hard about why now of all times Chase was a sobbing wreck. It was no secret that Chase held his relationships with his friends – no – his family, close to his heart. He did mention that he'd shut himself away for three whole days. Had some of them taken issue with that? They all understood each other, though. Surely they wouldn't cast Chase out over that?

He ran through each pup in his head. Zuma looked up to Chase like a big brother, but he would've been more worried than angry about him. And the same went for Rubble. Rocky probably would've been disappointed, but he was a sweet pup. Not the kind of pup to hold grudges at all. But then Marshall froze when he thought about the next pup.

Skye.

Chase was always close to her. In fact, she was close to everyone. She was basically the team's big sister. But right now, Skye seemed to outright resent him for shutting himself away. Had she acted out somehow? She had to have. Almost nothing else could break Chase like this, could it? Marshall hated to jump to a hasty conclusion like this, but the more he thought, the more likely the scenario became.

It took about ten minutes more than Marshall would've liked, but Chase had finally calmed down enough to the point of being able to coherently speak. He was still crying heavily, but he was further along than he was when Marshall had found him.

"Chase..." Marshall began. "What happened? It's OK… You can tell me..."

"IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME!!" Chase screamed, with tears continuing to pour down his face. "I SHOULD'VE FALLEN IN THE RIVER! NOT YOU! I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE FRIEND! A HORRIBLE LEADER! I'M SUCH A SCREW-UP! I WAS POWERLESS WHEN IT MATTERED MOST! AT LEAST IF I DIED THEN NO-ONE WOULD'VE MISSED ME FOR BEING SUCH A BAD PUP!"

Marshall felt something inside of him break. Chase's mere suggestion that he should've died instead made Marshall want to throw up. It didn't take long for Marshall to shift from sympathetic to enraged.

"...what… did… you… say?"

"YOU HEARD ME! I SHOULD'VE DIED INSTE- AUGH!"

Unable to restrain himself, Marshall lashed out with a lightning-quick slap to the face.

"SHUT! UP!" Marshall roared. "Do NOT say such stupid things! How could you POSSIBLY say we'd be better off if you'd died instead?! It's bad enough that everyone got like this from my accident, but how do you think we'd feel if it was you?! HUH?!"

Chase didn't reply. His face was still drenched with tears, but he could only give Marshall a frightened look after recovering from the almighty slap he'd just received. Through his own bleary vision, Chase could easily make out the furious tears pooling in the corners of Marshall's eyes.

"Are you saying that we don't love you?! That you think we'd be happier if you fell in the river instead of me?! That you think we hate you?! That you're a bad pup?!"

"M-M… M-Marshall, I-"

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Now Marshall had started to cry with rage. "You know as well as I do that none of us would wish what happened to me on anyone! Least of all you! Don't! You! DARE! Think for a SECOND that we don't love you!"

"B-But… Skye… totally hates me! And I… I kept it quiet when I found out you were OK! N-Now… E-E-E-Everyone… hates… me..."

It took a few moments for Marshall to collect himself and process what Chase had just said. Slowly, the picture was starting to come together for him. Chase must have told them about last night. And Skye must have taken it badly. Marshall's anger slowly evaporated, and was replaced with the sympathy he was feeling moments prior. He reached out and took Chase in his arms once more.

"So… You told everyone about last night, huh?" Marshall asked shakily.

"...y-yeah..." Chase sobbed.

"And… Skye didn't like what she heard…?"

Chase's strangled sobs served as Marshall's answer. The speckled pup tightened his hug when he realised just how bad the situation truly was. Marshall thought long and hard about what to say next as he rubbed Chase's back.

"Tell me something, Chase..." Marshall began softly. "Throughout the whole time we've been the Paw Patrol… Has one of us ever made a mistake that the rest of us hasn't forgiven?"

"...n-no..." Chase whimpered. "But… it looks like… th-that's about to change..."

"No it's not." Marshall continued. "It sounds like this is gonna take more work than usual, I gotta admit. But you know as well as I do that we're all a forgiving bunch. It's gonna take more than this to make us turn our backs on each other for good."

"B-But… Skye told me to stay away from her… What if… What if this is enough… t-to make everyone turn their backs on me? I've… I've screwed things up with everyone… Way too badly..."

Marshall broke the hug and laid his paws on Chase's shoulders, firmly looking into the bloodshot eyes of the shepherd before him.

"So unscrew them."

"I-I… I can't..." Chase looked away in sadness. Marshall moved a paw to the pup's head, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Chase… What did I say back on the day of the fire pup contest? 'Do my best and forget the rest', right? Well, that goes for you, too. You're probably right. You can't unscrew things… alone. But you're not alone. And never will be. You've gotta apologise to the others. Let them know that you're gonna fix things. But you've got nothing to be scared of."

Marshall leaned in closer and pressed his nose against Chase's. "I can help you. I can help make things right. Maybe Skye will take a little more work, but you CAN patch things up with the other pups. And I'll make sure you do. That is… if you'll let me."

A long pause ensured as Chase stared into Marshall's ocean-blue eyes. Every one of Marshall's words rattled around in Chase's head. He'd spent so long in a self-imposed exile a few feet away from the other pups that he felt like he'd burned bridges with them for good. And now Marshall was reaching out to him to try and repair those same bridges. Chase's spirits slowly began to rise. He thought that he'd be a fool to try and turn Marshall down at this point.

"I..." Chase began. "...no. You're right." Chase's eyes suddenly lit up with the same determined spark they always had. "I CAN'T unscrew things alone. But I can still make it up with the other pups. I can make things right with them again. All this time I've been hiding from everything. From the pups… From the town…"

Chase suddenly put his arms around Marshall and returned his hug, after spending the last few minutes in a state of sorrow-induced catatonia.

"...no more. I'm going to apologise to all the pups. Skye included. I'm going to step up, and I'm gonna tell them all how sorry I am for not being there for them. But… I'll need your help. I'll need you to stand by me and help me find the right words. I'll need you to help me to start unscrewing things. Can I ask you to do that? Please?"

Marshall's response was an even tighter hug. "You don't have to ask me anything… Of course I will… Big brother..."

Chase began to weep again. But now, he wasn't crying tears of sadness. Joyful tears dripped down his face as he squeezed Marshall as hard as he could.

"Thank you, Marshall… f-for everything… Th-thank you for coming back… For helping me…" Chase gave a long, loud sniffle. "Y-you… You're… You're the best baby brother ever..."

Now it was Marshall's turn to start shedding tears of joy.

"Oh, c-c'mon… Th-that's… cheating!" Marshall sobbed joyfully.

"A-and it's not when do you it?!" Chase shot back playfully.

The two had been brought back to almost the same position that they were in last night. Both holding each other close, crying joyfully into one another's fur. But now the pair were laughing at the same time. With Marshall officially back with the team and vowing to be there for the pups as he always had been, it felt like the heart of the team was steadily beating once again. And Marshall and Chase both had the same thought:

In the end, perhaps things were going to be alright.


	7. On the Town

For those on the Lookout's ground floor, time had seemed to freeze. Even when Ryder had joined up with Rocky, Zuma and Rubble and sat down in silence, nobody could bring themselves to say anything. Zuma and Rubble simply sat where they were, staring at the floor as they processed the thoughts of their family being torn apart by strife, even though by all accounts, they should have been reunited stronger than ever by now.

Rocky, for his part, was still stewing in his own righteous fury. He felt bad for Skye, but now she was completely acting out. As hurt as she was, she had absolutely no right to yell at them the way she did. He was hurt by Chase and Ryder's withdrawal, too, but he would've at least tried to make amends with them rather than chewing them out. But still, this wasn't like her and part of Rocky couldn't help but worry about her.

Nobody had even noticed Ryder getting up briefly and digging out an old backpack before sitting back down. When he was sure the other pups weren't looking, he stole glances at each of them. Rocky glaring holes in the floor. Zuma looking near to tears. Rubble looking like he had no clue what to do with himself. Ryder's self-hatred could only intensify upon seeing these reminders of how badly his pups once needed him. In fact, they still did. But considering the fact that he ran away and screamed at them, they needed someone who wasn't him. But then, who could that be? The boy felt distinctly useless for the whole time he was there. He felt like he deserved every venemous word from Skye.

But everyone was jolted from their thoughts when they heard the elevator roar to life. As it descended, a dalmatian and a german shepherd came into view, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Chase they had expected to come back down, but they were expecting Marshall to be staying in Ryder's room. As the pair stepped off of the elevator, everyone raced over to them.

"Guys! Are you OK?!" Rocky asked.

"...yeah." Chase replied calmly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Me too." Marshall replied. "Are… you?"

Rocky frowned. "I… guess?"

"You 'guess'?" Chase chimed in.

Marshall looked over at Zuma and Rubble to find them not responding to anything, awkwardly shifting their gaze around the room. He turned his attention to Ryder to see him staring quietly at him, before the boy reached out and took Marshall into another hug. Only this time it seemed oddly desperate. As if Ryder was crying out for help in some way. Marshall nuzzled tightly into Ryder's neck and started gently licking him, sensing his need.

Ryder didn't dare ask what had gone on with Chase. After all, something told him that he would feel even more useless if he knew. His family was falling apart around him, despite his fire pup returning to them against all the odds. He wasn't sure if he'd ever win the trust of his pups back. But for the time being, Marshall was the one pup that he was determined not to fail.

After a few minutes, Ryder reluctantly released Marshall, though kept his hands on the pup's head.

"P-Pups…" Ryder shakily began.

"Wyder, are you OK?" Zuma interrupted.

"You don't look well..." Rubble observed.

"...fine." Ryder whispered, before swiftly changing the subject. "Marshall said that he wanted to go see Katie after this. I told her we'd be there soon. He wants you all to come with him."

"...Skye, too?" Rocky asked, seemingly anticipating disappointment.

Ryder cringed before answering. "Yeah… Skye, too."

Ryder felt one of his heartstrings being swiftly cut as he heard Rocky's growl in response. The boy was completely helpless. He could only watch his family go to pieces around him. He should have been working to stop this from happening. But then, he only viewed himself as the reason for the team falling apart.

"How are we gonna show her that Marshall's OK, though?" Chase inquired. "I mean, what are we gonna say? 'Oh, hi, Katie! Guess what! Marshall's actually OK! He didn't die after all! Pfft, how silly are we?!'" punctuating his hypothetical response by lightly rapping himself on the temple with his paw.

"I wanted to surprise her!" Marshall replied. "Ryder, did you come up with anything?"

Ryder didn't need to say anything. All he did was give a wry smirk, and gesture to the backpack.

Skye was unfortunately not around to hear Ryder's plan. She was still in her Pup House castigating herself for her behaviour, unable to help shedding a few angry tears in the process. Rocky was right. Chase was supposed to be her friend. She was supposed to be there in their time of need. But the resentment bubbling away inside of her had gotten the best of her.

Skye couldn't deny still being angry at Chase and Ryder for not bothering to help out in their time of need. But she realised that perhaps part of her anger was them refusing to take care of themselves. They were perhaps more upset than anyone at Marshall's "death". They needed her and the pups as much as she and the pups needed them. In the end, she could only view their withdrawal as wholly selfish.

But having said that, she had absolutely no reason for going nuclear on them the way she did. It wasn't anything like her. All it made her was a monster. She was the team's emotional bastion for the last three days. But apparently, she wasn't to Chase and Ryder. Apparently they only deserved hatred and scorn. How could she face the rest of the pups after doing that? Did she deserve to be a member of the team if it was so clear that she couldn't get along with them?

"Skye..."

Skye jumped at the surprisingly gentle voice coming from behind her. Slowly, she turned around to see a familiar dalmatian standing behind her.

"M-Marshall?" Skye stammered. "Wh-what's up?" Skye internally feared what Marshall was going to say to her. Surely he had to have known that she was such a bad friend that she made Chase cry?

Surprisingly, Marshall did nothing of the sort. Instead he simply explained that everyone was going to see Katie and that he wanted her to come with them. As much as she could barely bring herself to show her face around the other pups, Skye couldn't well say no to Marshall at this point. Reluctantly, the cockapoo dragged herself behind Marshall to see the other pups. Predictably, Rocky greeted her with a dirty look and Chase, Ryder, Rubble and Zuma all swiftly averted their gazes. As much as it hurt, Skye accepted this treatment, believing that she deserved it all the way. Ryder took the long, overhanging silence as their cue that they should probably get going.

It felt slightly alien to the team to be using their vehicles again after three days. None of them had gone anywhere in three days, and a few even believed that they'd never drive again with the team being permanently fractured. But there they were, driving down the road towards Adventure Bay like nothing had happened. Skye's helicopter streaked through the air, Rocky's truck was as smooth a ride as the mixed breed remembered, Zuma's hovercraft glided across the ground, Chase had to resist the urge to put his siren on and Rubble's bulldozer roared across the road. And at the head of the pack was Ryder, driving his ATV once more. Did it always rumble this much?

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at Katie's Pet Parlor. As all of them pulled into the spaces at the front of the building, Katie, having heard the engines, came out to greet them.

"Hey, pups… Ryder..." Katie greeted quietly.

Ryder removed his helmet, hanging it off of one of the bars of his ATV. "...long time no see, I guess..." Ryder sighed as he approached, the other pups not far behind him.

"Yeah..." Katie couldn't think of anything else to say. "Look… guys… I'm so sorry about Marshall… He… he didn't deserve to die at all..."

The pups all looked down and whined. Ryder, similarly, lowered his head, betraying the butterflies in his stomach. "You're right… He was so young… He had so much ahead of him..."

Katie thought that she should probably get everyone inside before the tears started.

"C'mon, everyone… Let's not just stand here, huh?"

"Yeah..."

Ryder waited until everyone had gone inside before following behind them. It was odd that Katie didn't notice the boy wearing an unusually-bulky backpack. They weren't something he was known for wearing, after all. But then, he supposed that a "dead" pup was probably more concerning to the girl at this point. Though it was something of a miracle that Katie didn't notice the backpack wriggling slightly.

"Ryder! How much longer? I can barely breathe in here!" Marshall hissed from within.

"Shhh!" Ryder whispered back.

"Urgh… my legs..." Marshall grumbled as Ryder finally followed the group, the pup finally falling still.

Oddly, Katie's parlor was as quiet and sombre as the Lookout was. It hadn't changed from the last time the pups were there, but everything seemed to carry an air of emptiness. In that sense, it was a lot like the rest of the town in the wake of Marshall's "demise". Katie led Ryder to a sofa and sat down on it. Ryder followed, taking care not to push the backpack he was wearing into the sofa. The pups all sat down in front of them, watching on.

"Well…" Katie began. "I guess the first thing I've gotta say is 'How are you all'?"

It took a few seconds for Ryder to answer. "Katie… how do you think we are?"

"OK, OK, I had a feeling I'd get that answer..." Katie decided to look over the pups, noticing how dirty and thin they all looked, noting the matted parts of the fur around their eyes.

"Oh, pups..." Katie whispered sympathetically. "You all look terrible..."

"Matches how we feel..." Rubble replied sombrely.

"Hey. I feel the same way, you know." Katie retorted. "Marshall was MY friend, too. Actually, he was everyone's. When Hello Adventure Bay came on that evening… It felt like everything fell apart around me… So if that's how I felt, I could only imagine how you all were feeling..."

Ryder felt even more guilty as Katie explained her feelings. She was in pain, too, and he'd completely shut her out. Marshall, however, could only fight to keep from snickering in the backpack. He knew how this whole thing went by now. He started to picture Katie's inevitable reaction in his head.

"Which brings me to you." Katie's words jolted Ryder out of his guilt as the girl looked him in the eyes. "Look, I know losing Marshall must've destroyed you. More than any of us. But you can't just hide from your problems. We were all worried about you, and you just totally shut us out. How can you expect us to help you when you won't even let us get close."

Ryder began to feel even worse. "But..." he squeaked. "...I couldn't… Losing Marshall… made me feel like such a horrible person… I thought… Everyone in town… would hate me..."

Katie's eyes shot open, with the pups following suit. "What?! Ryder, how could you say that?!"

Ryder's head snapped up in response, glaring at her. "Because Marshall was one of the town's rocks! The town all adores the Paw Patrol! So how do you think they'd feel about the leader who couldn't even save one of them! I COULDN'T EVEN BRING BACK A BODY!!!"

Ryder looked around after ferociously pounding his knees with his fists in anger to see a sea of dropped jaws and wide eyes. If he could see Marshall, he'd note that he had the same expression, shocked at how Ryder felt during the whole ordeal. The pups were confident in thinking that Ryder definitely wasn't acting. Seeing everyone's shock, Ryder screwed his eyes shut and looked down once more.

"...I'm… sorry…" Ryder whispered.

Katie didn't reply for a second. "See, Ryder? See what holding it all back has done to you? We all had no idea that was how you felt..."

Ryder gave her a look that was equal parts sad and unamused.

"...OK, yeah, we did, but still! Do you see how this kinda thing has been burning you up? We all wanted to help you. The town wanted to see you because they knew how badly you were hurt. The town wouldn't hate you at all. Actually, when I was out a couple days ago, I overheard people saying how worried they were about you..."

Katie thought back to times when she went to buy food and other supplies, and the observations of Adventure Bay's citizens floated around in her head.

* * *

" _I don't blame him. He must be distraught..._ "  
" _The poor kid..._ "  
" _He's only_ _ten_ _! He must be crying his eyes out!_ "

* * *

Katie breathed in and continued. "Everyone knows you're not a bad kid… A lot of people really care about you, worry about you… And they'd all hate to see you like this! So please, STOP pushing everyone out!" Now Katie slowly lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again… That hurts just as much as losing Marshall..."

Ryder's heart felt like it was going to fall apart. Hearing that the town didn't want him dead honestly made him feel far worse. All hiding away did was hurt the pups as well as Adventure Bay's citizens. Swallowing back tears, Ryder choked out more words.

"Maybe I'm not a bad kid… B-But… I sure as heck am a bad friend..."

To Ryder's surprise, Katie reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder, which was greeted by Ryder holding Katie's arm and feebly attempting to push it away. Katie, however, wasn't having it.

"No you're not… You're a broken friend… You've spent all this time saving us… Now let us save you… Let us help fix you..."

After a few seconds, Ryder sighed heavily and let himself flop backwards, leaning into the sofa.

"YIPE!!"

Unfortunately, Ryder had forgotten about the pup in his pack, and shot to the edge of his seat when he heard the loud noise of discontent from the squashed pup behind him. The pups in front of him jumped half a foot in the air, looking at him with surprise. Katie had followed suit, only to narrow her gaze into a suspicious glare a few seconds later.

"...did your backpack just yelp?" Katie questioned.

"Er-err… Y-Yes! Er, I mean, no! Er, that is, uh, a-heh-heh-heh!" Ryder stammered, his secrecy falling apart with that one noise.

Katie paused, looking more steamed than before as she realised that Ryder was keeping secrets from her. "Ryder… you have exactly five seconds to tell me what is going on."

Now the jig was up. Ryder wanted to wait until Katie went to bathe the pups before springing what Marshall playfully referred to as "Operation Vanilla Surprise" on her. But this would have to do. Retaining a blank look on his face, Ryder removed his arms from the straps of the backpack and turned it towards Katie. Sitting behind it, Ryder slowly pulled the zips of the backpack to maximise the suspense. Five seconds wasn't going to be enough right now. Sensing his cue, Marshall's heart leapt in his chest as the light invaded the cramped space of the backpack that was only just large enough to fit him inside. Like a jack in the box, Marshall sprang up from the backpack, pulling his paws out of it and falling forward onto Katie's lap.

Katie jumped when the surprisingly-alive cargo Ryder was carrying landed in her lap. Two seconds later, she realised what that cargo was, and leapt up with a shout of shock that could make one think that she had sat on a hedgehog. Her hands shot over her mouth and her eyes opened so wide that they had the potential to fall out. Ryder was right. She certainly would stand up.

Nobody had taken losing Marshall well. Especially not Katie, after she had learned that her cat had, however indirectly, killed one of her friends. Mercifully, no-one except the rest of the Paw Patrol had put two and two together that she knew of. Katie had spent her three days ruminating on how nothing would ever be the same again. And now it was as if she had seen a ghost that had jumped straight out of Ryder's backpack. And technically speaking, she had. And this "ghost" had stolen the girl's breath away, rendering her temporarily speechless.

"...Marshall…?" Katie whispered in a tone that implied that she was struggling to stay upright.

"Err… sur… prise…?" Marshall stammered with a huge, nervous, toothy grin.

Katie slowly ambled over to Marshall on the sofa, staring at him with the same wide-eyed expression. She seemed to be questioning whether what she was seeing was real. Slowly, uncertainly, she reached out towards Marshall and placed a hand on the nervously smiling dalmatian's head. He was warm. Furry. Very much alive.

"Marshall… It… I-It..." Katie stammered. Now it was her turn to slowly well up with joyful tears.

"IT REALLY IS YOU!!!"

Marshall didn't waste any more time, leaping at Katie as the girl lunged in for a hug. Ecstatic tears rolled down her face as Katie hugged Marshall for all she was worth. Tears which the spotted pup quickly licked away. Katie soon lost her balance and fell back onto the sofa, continuing to hug Marshall for dear life. All the while Ryder and pups looked on smiling warmly.

Soon, Katie had partially recomposed herself and had pulled away to look at the smiling pup in her arms. Marshall was radiating the same aura of positivity as ever, even though one look at him told Katie that he'd been through far more than she knew. Katie was still smiling when she turned to look at Ryder and gave him an exaggerated glare, shifting closer to him as his face changed from smiling to fearful.

"You… You… Yooouu..." Katie said menacingly. Ryder looked even more worried as he shifted back on the sofa slightly.

"You… JERK!" Katie punctuated her final word with a swift straight punch to Ryder's shoulder as she smiled again.

"Owwwwwwww!!" Ryder howled, clutching his shoulder, taken aback at Katie's hidden strength.

Katie suddenly burst out laughing, sitting directly next to Ryder and putting an arm around him, keeping her other arm wrapped around the bundle of white fur in her lap. Soon, her laughter spread to Marshall, then to the pups, and then finally to Ryder, who once more found himself cracking up as he wrapped one arm around Marshall, and draped the other arm over Katie. After calming down, Katie finally spoke up.

"Marshall, I- How- You… How are you here?! We- We all thought you were dead!"

"So did I..." Marshall replied. "I'm… really not sure, to tell you the truth… I wasn't sure… I'd ever come back..."

Marshall went on to explain to Katie the story of his long journey and the pain that he endured. Few details were spared, with Marshall telling Katie everything that happened up until Chase brought him back home the previous night.

"Oh, you poor thing..." Katie tightened her grip on the pup and kissed his forehead.

"Hey, at least you liked the surprise." Marshall added with a cheeky grin.

Katie laughed softly. "You little stinker… Are you OK? You're not sick? Hurt? Anything?"

"I mean, I'm a little dirty, but… I feel… OK?"

"That's actually why we came, Katie." Ryder finally spoke up. "We wanted you to give Marshall and the rest of the pups a good bath, and maybe look him over. If, er… that'd be OK?"

Katie looked right at Ryder with a furrowed brow. "'Would it be OK?' It's the least I could do!" Katie gave a cheeky smirk. "Besides, looking at the job you did with Marshall, it's probably for the best you brought him over."

"Hey!" Ryder yelled, a look of mortal offense spreading over his face.

"Ooh! Brutal!" Marshall observed.

"Marshall! Whose side are you on?!" Ryder shouted with his cheeks reddening, prompting everyone to burst into laughter except him.

Katie soon departed with Marshall in tow to check him over, leaving Ryder to sit in the waiting room with the rest of the pups. Katie ran just about every check she could think of. But despite her efforts, she found herself even more bewildered than before. Marshall showed absolutely no signs of being sick or even having any broken bones. He had some minor cuts and bruises, but that was about the extent of it. Katie could only sigh, having forgotten that Marshall was practically made of iron with all of the practice he'd had with being clumsy.

With Marshall being clear of any major wounds or sickness, Katie moved on to drawing a hot bath for him. It didn't take long for Katie to be ready.

"OK, Marshall, the tub's ready for you." Katie said, walking up to the examination table.

"'Tub'?" Marshall echoed, growing fearful. "As in… water? I… I can't! No! Please!"

Katie took a step back, alarmed at the pup's reaction. "Marshall? What's wrong?"

"I-I can't! Please! Don't make me go in there!" Marshall curled up into a shaking ball.

"Marshall, wha… What's gotten into you? It's only water."

"But water… Water got me into this mess!"

Katie went rigid. She'd completely forgotten that Marshall's accident would make him averse to anything that might get him wet. He'd probably associate getting wet with nearly dying after the incident. Katie quickly realised that she'd have to take a different approach, walking over and gently cupping Marshall's head in her hands.

"Marshall… It's OK." Katie whispered soothingly. "I know the last time you got wet was when you fell in the river. But don't worry. I'll be with you the whole way. It's only a bath. This time, you're not in any danger at all. There's nothing to be scared of."

Marshall looked fearfully into Katie's eyes. "Then… please don't let me go?"

Katie smiled warmly. "Not planning to."

With great trepidation, Marshall followed Katie to the filled tub waiting for him, and climbed in with even greater trepidation. Looking around at the foamy water surrounding him only put him in mind of the river that had nearly killed him. Marshall began to shake and breathe heavily, his breaths increasing in frequency by the second, along with his heartbeat. Only for both to slow down to a more manageable level when he felt a hand on the side of his neck.

"Shhh..." Katie whispered. "Everything's OK… You're fine..."

It was odd to Marshall how quickly Katie's words calmed him. He was still fearful about being in water again, but he realised that Katie was right. She really was with him the whole way. And he had to admit, the warm water did feel good. But he continued to fidget and breathe heavily the entire time he was there. True to form, Katie never did let him go. She continued to whisper reassuringly to him the whole time she lovingly cleaned the last of the mud from his fur, while also adding in some scratches for good measure.

"See?" Katie whispered. "Nothing to be scared of."

As correct as Katie was, Marshall was still relieved to be out of the tub a few minutes later with Katie taking a hairdryer, comb and scissors to his coat, restoring it to its former shining, well-kept state. It was as if none of the last three days had ever happened. Marshall didn't say anything until after the girl had finished where he asked Katie a question.

"Katie?"

"What is it, Marshall?"

It was a question that had been bothering Marshall for a long while. A question that only Katie could answer. Albeit one that would make her stop dead in her tracks. Marshall took a slow breath in.

"How's Cali?"


	8. Out of the Bag

Katie froze at the mention of her cat's name.

"C-Cali?" Katie said. "Wh-Why… Why do you ask?"

Marshall's eyes widened. "Oh, no. Please, PLEASE don't tell me something happened to her!"

"Wha- no! No, Cali's… Cali's still here. It's just… well, that question kinda came out of nowhere. Why DO you ask, anyway?"

Marshall sighed. "Well, I was thinking about Cali while I was stuck in the forest. I saw that she got away OK, but… How is she? Is she… sad?"

The infectious habit of sighing swiftly transferred to Katie. "She… hasn't been the same since she came back. I mean, when she came back to me, she looked really upset. But I only found out why when Hello Adventure Bay came on that evening. She's been hiding from me and… sleeping way more than usual. I mean, she doesn't move much anyway, but… the only time she moves is when she goes to eat. Which… isn't often, these days..."

Marshall gave a sympathetic whine, to which Katie rubbed his head in response.

"Katie… do you… hate Cali?"

Katie froze up again. "Huh?! No! Of course not! Cali's still my cat, and I know full well she didn't want any of this!" Katie paused for a second. "But… It's been awkward, you know? I mean, she was still responsible for what happened back there… I WANT to tell her it wasn't her fault, but… I know I'd be lying… And I think she'd know, too. I've tried to make her feel better, too… And yeah, it hasn't worked. Big surprise, there."

Marshall whined yet again. He had already forgiven Cali, knowing that her "killing" him was a complete accident, but the situation with her was worse than he thought. Thinking back to Chase and Skye recalling her name with complete hatred, he knew that he had his work cut out for him.

"It gets worse, Katie…" Marshall said sadly. "The pups, well… They really DO hate Cali for what happened..."

"I'm not surprised..." Katie replied. "I mean, I gotta be honest. The reason you disappeared was because of her."

"But… Katie… I forgive her."

Katie arched her eyebrows in surprise. "Wha? You… do?"

Marshall looked at her. "You're surprised?"

"Well… yeah! I mean… you just got back here after Cali made you fall in the river and… you forgive her already?"

"It was all an accident, Katie. You said it yourself, Cali's really torn up over the whole thing. She didn't want this to happen. She deserves to know I'm OK as much as anyone else."

Katie couldn't bring herself to reply for a few seconds, before breaking into a sad smile. "...you haven't changed a bit, Marshall."

Marshall broke into rueful giggling for a moment. "Katie… call her? Please?"

Katie took some deep breaths. She wasn't expecting any of what happened today. Marshall suddenly showing up and asking to speak to Cali wasn't something she knew she wanted. But now that it had happened, she wanted it more than anything at that moment. Not only was their friend, thought to be deceased, back with them, she could finally give her cat some much-needed peace of mind.

"Cali? Cali? Here, kitty, kitty."

For a few seconds, there was nothing. Looking around, the pair found nothing. Only when they heard the sound of paws padding up to them did they turn around to see a tiny, grey-furred cat standing behind them, looking more scared than anything. Cali arched her back when she noticed the pair of eyes staring at her. After watching in amazement from the shadows, in disbelief that Marshall was actually OK, now she had to face the pup that her fear had nearly gotten killed.

"Hey, Cali..." Marshall gently greeted the cat.

Cali didn't move an inch.

"Cali, hey, it's OK..."

Cali moved backwards as Marshall tried to reach out to her. The pup frowned at how scared Cali obviously was of him.

"Cali, I'm not gonna hurt you… C'mon, look at this face..." Marshall was giving a reassuring smile to the cat. "Do I look like I wanna hurt you? Do I look like I hold what happened against you?"

Cali slowly lowered herself back down a level position. She jumped a little as Marshall laid a paw on her back.

"Don't panic, Cali… It's OK… Please don't be sad any more..." Marshall ran his paw down Cali's back. "I know you didn't want this to happen. You were scared. You needed help. Heck, I should've seen you grabbing onto my face coming."

The cat slowly looked down in sadness.

"But you wanna know something?" Marshall went on. "I'm fine. I don't blame you at all. Nobody should."

Marshall moved in closer to Cali and laid down in front of her. Surprisingly, she didn't object at all. "Point is: I forgive you. Everything's going to be alright. So please. Cheer up for me?"

Cali had started to stare at Marshall, disbelief in her eyes. Something told Marshall that she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing or hearing. Like she had expected Marshall to tear into her. Figuratively and literally. But she could see that Marshall was well and truly not angry at all. Slowly, Cali moved over to the dalmatian lying on his belly, and began to lick his nose.

"Ha ha ha ha! Cali-! Ha ha! Th-that tickles!" Marshall giggled. When Cali stopped licking the pup, he reached over and pulled her in close for a hug. A hug that Cali graciously accepted by rubbing her head up and down Marshall's cheek, purring in relief.

"Awww..." Katie cooed from the sidelines.

Ever since Katie had disappeared with Marshall, another 45 minutes had passed. 45 minutes of awkward silence for the pups and Ryder, who all still couldn't bring themselves to talk to each other, much less play with each other. The yawning gaps between them were as wide as ever, and to Chase, this was readily apparent. Inside his mind, he made a fervent wish for Marshall to come back soon so that he could seek his help in apologising to everyone. So that he could go some ways towards repairing their shattered bonds.

But the sound of a door opening quickly cut through the silence and drew everyone's attention. Perhaps Chase's wish had come true after all? But his leaping heart was quickly stilled by seeing who was accompanying Marshall through the door. The very same cat that was responsible for their fracturing in the first place. Chase didn't have time to regret not being more specific with his wish before he lowered his stance and emitted a long, ferocious growl, glaring daggers at Cali.

"Whoa, Chase! Marshall yelled in surprise. Chase almost never got that angry.

Marshall didn't even finish his sentence before he noticed Skye growling with rage as well, baring her fangs.

"Skye! Wh-" Marshall stuttered in shock at seeing Skye going into guard dog mode.

Casting his eyes over the rest of the party, Rocky had turned his back on the pair, casting a scornful glare in the cat's direction, Zuma had shuffled into a corner, doing his best not to look at Cali and even Rubble, who arguably had the best rapport with cats in general, immediately averted his eyes, locking his gaze onto the floor. It was worse than Marshall thought. Even Ryder had spontaneously vanished from the room like a magician. Realising that he was truly alone, Marshall thought to explain himself.

"Guys… I've brought Cali here to apologise… She- she didn't mean to get me hurt..."

"Apologise? For… all we've been through? And… you expect us to just… forgive and forget?" Rocky asked flatly, yet with a tone dripping with malice. "Marshall, you can't be serious."

"But Cali was hurt as badly as any of us!" Marshall protested. "She barely ate either, and Katie said that she felt awful and avoided her the whole time!"

"Why do you think that was?" Zuma asked, not looking up. "At least she feels guilty, but you can't expect us to just… take it."

"I know… But it was all an accident… And she's… scared to talk to anyone now..."

"Accident or not, our lives were ruined that day..." Rubble interjected sadly. "And… I'm sorry, but, it was Cali's fault… Surely you can see that?"

Marshall fell quiet, realising how hopelessly outnumbered he was. He was essentially the 1 in 5-1 on his views of Cali as far as the pups were concerned. He had to think of a way to at least bury the hatchet. Being the forgiving sort, Marshall did this easily. But then, his views were more than slightly different to the other pups. They had to deal with the sorrow of his "death" after all. But as Marshall thought, he didn't notice Cali slowly moving towards Chase, who growled more loudly the closer she got to him. And after a few steps, Chase stopped her cold.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU DIRTY PUP-KILLER!!!"

Chase seemed to have a knack for practically freezing time with his yells. Everyone who wasn't Skye shot a surprised look at Chase. They had never known him to talk to anyone like that. Every word radiated a flaming hatred. Marshall stared in horror at his friend, a look shared with Cali. Terror radiated from the cat's gaze. She stepped back in a hurry from the pup she thought was going to lunge at her at any given moment. She frantically looked back and forth, before locking eyes with an enraged-looking cockapoo.

"Don't. Even. THINK. About. It." Skye snarled angrily. "Or did you wanna try throwing me into a river, too?"

Marshall shot Skye an appalled look. Surprisingly, she took notice.

"Marshall, why are you looking at me like that?!" Skye demanded. "Don't you get that we're standing in the same room as your killer, here?!"

"Skye, how could you be so mean?!" Marshall retorted. "Does Cali look like she's happy about any of this?!"

"Well, happy or not, that doesn't change anything!" Chase snapped. "She still took you away! And we all had to suffer for it!"

"I don't care that it was an accident!" Rocky added. "Do you know how it feels to lose someone?!"

Marshall bit his tongue, resisting the urge to say "Maybe." and risk making everything worse.

"I can't fowgive her!" Zuma shouted, looking up and glaring at Cali. "If it wasn't for her, none of this would've happened!"

"Cali was our friend, once!" Rubble chimed in. "But how can we still be friends with someone who gets one of us killed?!"

"There's no way I can forgive her! There's no way WE can forgive her!" Skye yelled. "She better hope she doesn't get in trouble aga-"

"EVERYONE, STOP!!!"

The pups froze as Marshall shouted at the top of his lungs, all instinctively looking towards him. They'd never known Marshall of all pups to raise his voice in the way he did. Even Cali couldn't help but look at him."

"Listen to yourselves! How could you all say such things?!" Marshall had to admit, he was slightly sickened by the venomous words he was hearing from the pups. "Look, I get it, forgiving Cali's out of the question right now, but she was hurt just as much as you guys! Put yourselves in her fur! She was just scared! How do you think she feels about all this?! And about all of you yelling at her?!"

For once, the pups were silent, looking at Marshall with a degree of astonishment.

"Marshall..." Chase began. "I don't know how you can be sticking up for the one who nearly got you killed-"

"Because, Chase." Marshall interrupted. "Because Cali needs help, too. I know I'm probably asking too much of you all to forgive her right away. So let me ask you something else. Don't hold this against Cali. I'm not asking you to forgive her anymore. I'm just asking you not to hate her anymore."

The silence was deafening. It seemed that everyone was trying to process what Marshall had just asked them to do.

"But… How can we do that?" Rubble asked. "What, are we supposed to just FORGET that trying to save Cali is what made us all so miserable?"

Marshall sighed. "No, Rubble… That's not what I'm asking you to do at all. Please, don't hold what happened against Cali. Look at her. Does she LOOK like she wanted this to happen?"

The pups all stared at the terrified cat before them.

"Again: Please stop holding this against her. I'm not asking you to forgive her, or even to let it go. I'm only asking you to stop treating her like a monster. And hey, who knows, maybe you'll forgive her in the end anyway?"

The silence endured after Marshall had finished his request. The pups waited for a long time for someone to dare to be the first one to reply. And that, in the end, turned out to be Zuma.

"Mawshall… I… WEALLY don't know if I can fowgive Cali… I know she didn't mean this… but I can't just fowgive and fowget just like that..." Zuma sighed heavily. "...but… I'll twy my best… I'll do what I can not to hold this against her..."

Marshall stared at Zuma for a second before giving a relieved sigh.

"...thanks, Zuma..." Marshall whispered.

"What he said." Rocky chimed in. "We were all so miserable… and it was all because Cali panicked and made you fall off your ladder… but she was just scared. I guess in her not-shoes, I would've been, too… I don't know if I'll ever properly forgive her… But I'll do my best, too."

Cali started to look more hopeful as the pups all stated their intentions. It wasn't full forgiveness, but at this point, it was as good as she was going to get.

"Cali..." Rubble began. "I used to really like you… I love kitties, after all… But I'm not going to get over what happened in a hurry… All that time I spent crying over Marshall was because of you sending him off his ladder… I'm sorry, but I can't forgive you right away. Starting now, I'll try to be a little more positive… But it's gonna take time. OK?"

Cali smiled at Rubble and nodded. Rubble couldn't help but smile back slightly. Maybe he could forgive Cali in due course. Soon the attention in the room turned to the angry-looking german shepherd. Chase had stopped growling, but he still looked undeniably vexed.

"...you're lucky Marshall asked me to, or I'd probably never forgive you for what you did..." Chase snarled. "I'll try and stop holding this against you. But don't think I'll be able to talk to you again in a hurry."

"Chase… All I want is for you to do what you can." Marshall replied quietly. And with a huge sigh, Chase slowly nodded, standing up again from his low stance.

Now the attention had turned to Skye. The cockapoo remained dead silent, continuing to glower at Cali hard enough that she could probably melt the cat with nothing more than her gaze.

"Three days… I was at my lowest… I couldn't mourn, I couldn't cry… I had to be reminded of the friend that died trying to save you… And all because you jumped on his face and knocked him off his ladder..." Skye growled. "As far as my list of things to do goes, 'let it go' isn't exactly high up."

"Please, Skye… for me?" Marshall pleaded.

Skye let off a low growl. "Don't think it'll be over in a hurry. Just for Marshall, I'll TRY. But I'm warning you now, cat. Don't expect me to let this go any time soon."

Surprisingly, Cali gave Skye a quick nod. As if accepting her terms. Marshall sighed with relief.

"Thanks, guys… That's all I ask right now. I mean, I don't blame Cali at all. I want her to feel better too, you know?"

"You haven't changed, Marshall..." Chase remarked.

"You're right. I really haven't." Marshall gave a soft smile. "So, Cali… Feel any better?"

The cat turned around and looked at Marshall with a more cheerful smile than he'd ever seen from her.

"Meow!"

From then on, things seemed a little lighter than they once were. A few seconds after Marshall had taken a seat against the wall of the entry room of the parlor with Cali next to him, Katie had called for another pup to join her for a bath. Rocky, wanting to get his inevitable bath out of the way, volunteered to go first, though with much unhappy grumbling. Strangely, Rocky's aversion to water provided the pups perhaps the best laugh they'd had in a while. After all of the drama and tragedy of the last three days, Rocky's complaints about water felt oddly… normal.

"You know, Marshall..." Chase began. "I only just saw this, but it's a little freaky..."

"What's freaky?" Marshall asked.

"Well, your fur. I mean, Katie just finished cleaning you up, but now it looks like nothing happened."

Marshall looked down at himself. At his pristine coat, dotted with puffs of smoke for spots.

"I… guess you're right..." Marshall observed.

This left the pups sitting in awkward silence again. Marshall never thought about it, but it really was as if he'd never been through the last three days. But despite this, all of the scars that the incident left ran deep. Not all scars had to be visible, after all. Eventually, Marshall thought to bring up something else he wanted to ask about.

"Hey… Skye?" Marshall piped up.

Skye snapped to attention from the sofa that she sat on. "What is it, Marshall?"

Marshall swallowed before asking his question, knowing that it'd just make everyone sad again. "Last night… Chase said that Ryder acted like Katie wasn't even there when she tried to talk to him… Do you… know anything about what happened then?"

Skye paused for a second, before sighing. "Yeah… I know… I know because I brought Katie up..." Though the cockapoo decided to keep quiet about Ryder screaming at her earlier that day. "She… tried what she could to get anything out of Ryder… but she… didn't have any more luck than we did..."

* * *

_"Well, here we are, Katie..." Skye announced solemnly._

_In one of the few times the skies above matched the general mood of Adventure Bay and especially the Lookout, the gloomy, overcast skies let very little light into the top floor of the Lookout, with Ryder's room laying just around the corner. Skye was just as morose as ever the day after her family had a hole punched in it that could never be filled. Katie, dressed fully in mourner's black, with unmistakable tear streaks on her face, had been escorted up by Skye after asking to try her luck with getting through to the group's inconsolable leader._

_"Thanks, Skye..." Katie whispered, still trying to keep a grip on herself. "He's… still gonna be there, right?"_

_"...definitely."_

_Katie slowly moved towards Ryder's closed bedroom door, breathing deeply the whole while. But as she got closer, a strange, soft sound started getting louder and louder. In any other case, it would seem out of place. But at the moment, it wasn't surprising at all. It was the sound of heartbroken weeping._

_Soon, Katie found herself beside the door, yet couldn't bring herself to knock. It tore her apart to hear the brave, intelligent, kindly leader of the Paw Patrol like this. But then, he'd lost a member of what amounted to his family. Thinking about it, she didn't remember a time where Ryder had ever mentioned going through loss. Eventually, with all of her willpower, Katie lifted her knuckles to Ryder's bedroom door and rapped five times in quick succession._

_"Ryder?" Katie called uncertainly. "...it's only me."_

_Suddenly, the sobbing began to fade, leaving behind an empty void of silence, punctuated only by the occasional sniffle. Skye listened in, surprised that Katie's approach wasn't met with a harsh rebuff._

_"Uhh… A-are you… doing OK?"_

_Silence. If Skye had asked that question, Ryder would've ripped straight into her. Not the way she ever thought she'd regard her kind, caring owner._

_"Ryder, we're… We're all really worried about you, you know? I-I know you're in pain right now… Trust me, so are we… But… you're only gonna make it worse if you just shut yourself off like this..."_

_Still nothing._

_"Please, Ryder… come out… We all… really miss you… And we're… scared. Are you… even eating right?"_

_Ryder remained as quiet as ever._

_"Ryder? Hello?"_

_Silence._

_"Ryder, please!" Katie had become noticeably desperate. "Don't do this to yourself! Don't do this to US! We're all worried about you! We all know how you feel! We're all hurt! You can't do this to yourself!"_

_Katie was essentially talking to a brick wall for all the response she got._

_"Ryder!"_

_Nothing._

_"Please! Answer me!"_

_More silence. Katie had begun to tear up._

_"Y-you… You can't do this… Please..."_

_Katie had near-exhausted her options. She'd tried what she could to get Ryder to come out of his shell. But it was clear that nothing she said was going to help at all. Even downright begging Ryder to come out accomplished nothing but making Katie feel worse._

_"...R-Ryder..." Katie sniffled. "I-If you ever… ever wanna come out… then… we'll be here… Please… take care of yourself… OK?"_

_Ryder still said nothing as Katie lowered her head and sadly dragged herself away from the door. She returned to the elevator to find Skye sat solemnly on the floor, having not moved since Katie went to try her hand at talking to Ryder._

_"I'm sorry, Skye..." Katie whispered. "I… I did my best..."_

_Skye nuzzled against Katie's legs. "I know, Katie… I heard everything… Thanks for trying… It means more than you think."_

_Katie kneeled down and rubbed Skye's head. "Can we… go back down, now?"_

_"...yeah… let's go."_

_The defeated pair slunk back into the elevator, waiting to go back down to a memorial for their fallen friend and the grieving pack that he'd left behind. But just as the elevator had closed its doors and was about to descend once more, Skye could've sworn that she'd heard something. Katie getting an inquisitive look on her face confirmed that the pup wasn't just hearing things. It was muffled, but very much there._

_It sounded distinctly like despair-filled crying._

* * *

Marshall lowered his head, feeling close to tears himself. Chase had mentioned that Ryder had been perhaps the worst-affected of all of them, but he never imagined it to be so bleak. He and Katie were always on such good terms, and there he was acting like she didn't even exist. The dalmatian couldn't stop himself from whining in sorrow.

Perhaps sensing this, Cali had moved to rub herself against Marshall's legs, to which he responded by smiling and licking the cat. But his face quickly fell again when he went to speak.

"Skye… Pups… I… I didn't think it was that bad..."

"You had to be there." Skye softly replied. "I… I wasn't sure Ryder was ever gonna get over losing you..."

"We thought we'd nevew see him again..." Zuma whimpered.

Chase remained silent, simply averting his gaze in guilt, not noticing Marshall and Skye walking across the room towards each other and slowly pulling each other into a hug.

"We… We've gotta make this right, Skye…" Marshall whispered "I've barely seen him… But he's… still feeling it… right?"

Skye felt guilt run her through like a lance. "Y-Yeah..." She replied, heavy-heartedly.

Much to Skye's relief, the conversation ended there. The hug went on for a little while before the two pups were startled out of it by what sounded like a man yelling in surprise behind the door to the parlor. The rest of the pups and Cali all jumped at hearing the loud bang of something hitting the door.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the light behind them, was a pup. A pup with a distinctly-large silhouette, who looked like they had just seen a ghost. The whites of their deep blue eyes were visible for miles, and their jaw had effectively hit the ground. It took everyone a little while to realise that the pup's attention was on Marshall. But when the other blue-eyed pup realised who their surprise guest was, it didn't take long for him to be filled with joy, as he remembered one of the other two pups that he'd prayed to see again.

"Everest!"


	9. Snow Storm

For a few seconds, Everest didn't move a muscle. She simply stayed where she was with the same gaping, wide-eyed expression on her face. It was just long enough for it to be slightly awkward for everyone. It was like they were staring at a husky statue. But it didn't take long for Everest's breathing to become heavier, before Everest quickly burst into tears, charged head on at Marshall and leapt at him.

It was slightly impressive how much power Everest had. The two pups had to have rolled at least five feet across the floor before coming to a halt, with Marshall being constricted by a wailing Everest's bone-crushing embrace. But the practice that Marshall had with hugs at this point was more than enough to survive what likely would've paralysed a lesser pup. The dalmatian found Everest's crying to be contagious as he returned Everest's hug, weeping as the two curled around each other.

The remaining pups watched on from the sidelines, smiling with relief. In the past three days, they hadn't seen hide nor hair of Everest. The only thing they knew about her was Jake telling them that Everest had "totally shut down". But seeing her now, crying her eyes out with joy as she hugged Marshall with all of her might, showed them that not only had she started recovering after disappearing, but also that maybe, just maybe, she was going to be alright.

Marshall, too, had worried about Everest. He hadn't had much time to think about it since the day began, but deep within him, Chase's words of "totally shut down" buzzed noticeably. In truth, Marshall cared deeply about her, and seeing her so happy had caused relief to mix in with his tears as he buried his face into her neck, getting lost in her overjoyed embrace.

Even after Everest had finally calmed down, she still hadn't let up on her hug, and was still hiccuping and sniffling, seemingly afraid to let Marshall go for so much as a second.

"Y-You're… You're..." Everest sobbed. "Y-You're… OK… You're… a-actually OK..."

"Y-Yeah… I… I'm fine, Everest…" Marshall whimpered. "Y-You… You've got nothing to worry about, Everest..."

"...n-nothing? ...nothing…?" Everest's head suddenly snapped up, looking at Marshall with a look that practically turned his blood to ice. "NOTHING?!! MARSHALL, WE ALL THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!! HOW IS THAT 'NOTHING'?!

Marshall's wet eyes went wide with fright. "E-Everest, I-I'm sorry!"

"How could you be so calm about this?! You n-nearly die on a rescue and it's… N-NOTHING to you?!"

"Everest!" Chase shouted defensively from the sidelines. "Marshall was scared, too! Stop acting like he wasn't!"

"Shut up, Chase!" Everest barked, tears continuing to run down her face, before whipping around to look at Marshall again. "How do you think we could've gone on without you?! How do you think **I** could've gone on without you?! L-Losing you made it feel like the world ended! I-I spent three days feeling… LOST! I-I was so upset I couldn't do anything! I c-couldn't st-st-stop thinking about you! How… how could you think-?!"

"ENOUGH!!"

Everest froze upon hearing the loud yell that sliced through the air, drawing every pup's attention to Rocky, who was standing in a doorway with Katie, having finished his bath. His coat looked far more lustrous than it usually did.

"Rocky?" Rubble piped up. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear Everest yelling at Chase." Rocky replied, before turning his attention to Everest. "Everest… When we got Marshall back, he was bawling. Bawling like you are now. He told us that he thought he'd never see us again. That he thought he was gonna die. He told us how scared he was… how lonely he was… how he couldn't even cry since no-one would hear him… Marshall was more scared than he's ever been… Just like Chase said. Please. Stop acting like Marshall's not taking this seriously… He's trying his hardest to get through this, too."

For a second, Everest stared at Rocky. She then turned back to Marshall, looking into his terrified, glistening eyes. With a couple of sad sobs, Everest quickly buried her face in Marshall's neck and tightened her hug.

"I'm… I-I'm… so sorry, Marshall..." Everest sobbed. "B-But… Th-The last three days… Th-They've been the worst of my life… I couldn't… c-couldn't go on without you… You dying was just… t-too much… for me to handle..."

Marshall began to cry again. "I-I know, Everest… I'm sorry, too..."

"Oh, don't be… You silly pup… Just… please… d-don't have an accident like that again… I… I couldn't handle it…"

"I won't… I s-swear… I'll always… be more careful from now on..."

The room had fallen silent for a few minutes more, with no-one daring to interrupt the moment between the two pups, who lay where they were, hugging each other as tightly as ever. The sight of the warm, joyous embrace between Everest and Marshall was enough to bring a smile to all of their faces. But eventually, Chase decided to get things moving again with a playfully-teasing remark.

"Aww… I guess you're all good with your girlfriend, Marshall?"

" **GIRLFRIEND??!!** "

The penultimate word in Chase' sentence caused both pups to shoot up to their hind legs, promptly losing their balance and falling onto their backs, landing side by side with each other. The sight prompted the entire room to be filled with uproarious laughter, with Chase falling onto his belly and pounding the floor with his paw.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, I DON'T LIKE EVEREST THAT WAY, WHERE DO YOU GET OFF THINKING LIKE THAT ABOUT US?!"  
"I'M WAY TOO YOUNG TO BE HIS GIRLFRIEND, HE'S LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER TO ME, GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE FREAKING GUTTER!"

The pups had charged up to Chase and started yelling denials over the top of one another. All of this only served to make Chase laugh hard enough to start shedding tears. Even Katie couldn't stop herself from laughing. Nor could the two figures standing in the doorway of the parlor.

"Y-You… You're both ridiculous!" one of the figures choked through their laughter.

The two finally stopped their frantic yelling for long enough to look at the doorway. It was there that Jake was standing doubled over with laughter with Ryder a little ways behind him, covering his mouth and snickering uncontrollably. But seeing the man at the door caused Marshall's spirits to rise once again.

"Jake! Hey!"

With his laughter slowly dying down, Jake made his way across the floor towards Marshall and Everest. Finally stopping in front of them, he got down on his knees and pulled both of them into a hug.

"I can't believe you're OK, little dude!" Jake exclaimed.

"I can't believe it either!" Marshall replied. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Ditto! I mean… We- we all thought you were dead and gone!"

"Heh, so I hear..."

"'Cuz it's true! I mean…" Jake's voice suddenly took a downward shift in tone. "...it's been a major bummer the last few days, and that's being nice about it..."

"But it's OK now, right?" Marshall whispered. "I mean, I'm not dead, so..."

Marshall felt Jake's hug tighten. "Dude, you're going too fast… This ain't the kinda thing that just… well, DISAPPEARS, y'know? This whole thing… its messed us all up… I mean, I couldn't get through to Ryder, Chase was nowhere to be found and Ev, well..." Jake swallowed hard and paused before going on. "It… It broke her..."

From within Jake's embrace, Marshall could hear Everest whining. Feeling his heartstrings being pulled at, Marshall shifted within Jake's arms and reassuringly licked Everest's cheek.

"What I'm tryin' to say is: Things might've gone back to normal, but we're not gonna get over this in a hurry. You get me?" Jake said.

"I know, Jake..." Marshall whispered, pausing for a few seconds before speaking again. "Hey, quick question: How'd you know where we were?"

Marshall had a feeling that he already knew the answer before Jake broke their hug and pointed at Ryder with a knowing smile, who just smirked and gave the pups a thumbs up. Marshall could only surmise that Ryder had been waiting outside for a while from the moment that Cali had appeared.

"Heh, you shoulda seen it." Jake chuckled. "When Ryder told me you were alive, I had to bring my phone to Everest. She didn't even believe him at first, and she went so fast driving here, I thought she was gonna crash!"

"Jaaaaaaake!" Everest whined in embarrassment, prompting another wave of laughter from the room as the husky glared and puffed out her cheeks.

Marshall quickly seized upon the lull in the conversation to look towards Ryder, who he noticed was viciously glaring at something. Following his gaze, Marshall found out that he was glaring at Cali, who looked apprehensive.

"Ryder..." Marshall called. "...please don't be mad at Cali… We already talked about this..."

Ryder slowly turned his gaze towards Marshall. "...you're saying I shouldn't be mad at Cali? After she made you fall off your ladder… into a river… and made us all think you were dead… you're telling me NOT to be mad at-"

Ryder's rant was swiftly cut off by his stomach emitting an incredibly loud and prolonged growl, rivalling the sound made even by a hungry Rubble. Clearly, the sound sent painful shockwaves through the boy's body as he grimaced and bent over clutching his midsection. Immediately, the mood in the room changed.

"Whoa, dude?! You OK?!" Jake said.

"Ryder, sir?! Wh-what's wrong?!" Chase added.

"Wyder, what's happening?!" Zuma went on.

Ryder didn't answer any of them. He instead just stood at the door, breathing heavily.

"What's going on?! Do you feel sick?!" Katie asked, sprinting over to the boy.

Even as Katie arrived in front of him, Ryder ignored her. Instead he took a slow, clumsy step forwards, and then another, before locking up in place and slowly tilting forward. Katie, seeing that he was about to give out, immediately reached out to stop his fall.

"Ryder?! Talk to me!" Katie barked.

"...I..." Ryder groaned through a strained voice, stopping to take a few more rapid breaths.

"Hey, Ryder?" Rubble cut in. "Tell me something. Are you hungry? That was some noise your tummy made."

Ryder didn't answer the bulldog. Instead he remained where he was, continuing to breathe rapidly with a look of pain on his face. But Rubble's question had given everyone a new line of inquiry to follow. Furrowing his brow, Jake walked over to where Ryder was hunched over.

"Dude… when was the last time you ate?" he asked sternly.

Ryder knew that he couldn't lie to them. He desperately wanted to say something to get everyone off his back, but his stomach had betrayed him at that point.

"Ryder, answer him!" Rocky pleaded.

"…not since… the morning… just before… Marshall..." Ryder groaned, bracing himself for the reaction that he was about to get, sensing the wave of indignation washing over the room.

"Are?! You?! SERIOUS?!!" Marshall shouted. "You're saying you haven't eaten a thing since that morning?!"

Ryder was too weak to even argue back. He simply felt Marshall's words cutting into him, making him feel even worse than he already did.

"Wh-what the heck were you doing when we were all eating breakfast?!" Chase demanded. "How could you neglect yourself like that?!"

"How could you make us all go and eat and not do the same thing?!" Rocky yelled. "Most of us weren't eating either, but what were you gonna do?! Let yourself starve to death?!"

"This… is NOT cool!" Zuma spluttered. "Look how sick you're getting!"

"At-at least we didn't get sick!" Rubble stammered. "Look at yourself! That's what happens when you shut yourself away!"

Ryder didn't show it, but the words from his pups wounded him deeply. He'd already put himself in the mindset that he was a horrible person not just for "letting Marshall die", but for isolating himself and pushing away everyone who wanted to try and help him. And seeing how worried he made everyone only served to tear at his already-wounded heart even more. The starved boy did his best to fight back tears.

Skye and Everest were the only ones to remain quiet. Everest felt that she couldn't say very much, having not left Jake's resort for the past three days and not even thinking about Ryder for that time, but Skye simply felt that she had no right to castigate Ryder any further than she already had, and desperately wanted to avoid crushing his spirits any more. Unfortunately for her, Ryder only took this as further proof of her hatred of him. Hatred that he believed he fully deserved.

"Dude, we've gotta get you some food!" Jake said. "You look like you're gonna pass out!"

"Ugh, how could you?!" Katie demanded. "You're eating right now whether you like it or not!"

"...B-But..." Ryder croaked.

"No 'buts'!" Katie sharply cut him off. "C'mon, you!"

Jake draped one of Ryder's arms over his back and pushed up. Katie did the same with Ryder's other arm, forcing him to stand up and follow them as the two led Ryder out of sight. It took a little while for the pups to say anything. As much as were aware of their hypocrisy, they couldn't ignore that Ryder willfully starved himself to the point of getting sick. It wasn't a thought that they were going to dismiss in a hurry. Again, silence hung over the group as they wondered if they were at all justified in their anger.

But Marshall was the first to speak up and break it, attempting to change the subject to that of the one pup that he had yet to speak to, having remembered him after his reunion with Everest.

"Guys… Does anyone know where Tracker is?"

For a while, no-one answered Marshall. He looked around the room to see a sea of faces lost in thought.

"I… don't know, to be honest..." Skye eventually replied. "I mean, we saw him and Carlos come to your memorial, but..."

"...neither of them said a word." Rubble continued. "They looked as us for a second, but then looked away."

"Skye did twy gweeting them, but they just looked away." Zuma said. "They both looked like they were twying not to cwy..."

"They looked almost… guilty?" Rocky added. "Like they didn't even wanna be there. Heck, nobody wanted to be there, but..."

"But they're here, right?" Marshall asked. "Isn't the jungle a long way from here? Maybe they're staying at the Adventure Bay Inn?"

Once more, nobody answered him for a few seconds.

"I… think you're onto something, Marshall." Everest replied. "I don't remember a lot of what happened the last three days, but I think I remember hearing Carlos' voice… and he said that he and Tracker were staying at the Inn until the funeral..."

"Then that's it!" Marshall declared, slamming his paw into the ground. "I gotta go see them right away! I gotta let 'em know I'm OK!"

"But Marshall, you don't have your truck!" Chase pointed out. "The Inn isn't exactly a quick walk away!"

"I can take him!" Everest butted in. "I'll drive him over in my snowplow! Please let me take him! Pleeeeeeease!"

Chase chuckled slightly. "OK, OK… You win… We'll let Ryder know where you went." Chase soon turned to giving the pair a sad look. "But please… drive safe..."

Everest gave a small smile to the shepherd. "Don't worry, worrywart. We'll be fine."

"I hope so... But then… you didn't exactly drive safe to see your boyfriend..." Chase sneered.

If one looked closely, one could practically see the steam shooting out of the pair's ears.

"...I'M GONNA GRIND YOU INTO PUP CHOW, BUB!!!" Marshall roared, rocketing towards Chase, who quickly turned away and started running around the room, desperately trying to get away from the wrathful dalmatian, joined by an enraged husky. The entire room erupted into peals of laughter once again.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Everest screamed.

"No!" Chase laughed as he ran as hard as he could.

"YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Marshall yelled.

"Worth it!" Chase replied, continuing to laugh.

"I'LL DRENCH YOUR SORRY BUTT!"

"I'LL FREEZE YOUR TAIL OFF!"

Marshall never did catch Chase in the end. For as embarrassed as Marshall was, Chase was impossible to stay mad at. Marshall and Everest were still giggling as Everest drove her snowplow through the streets of Adventure Bay, with Marshall sat beside her. The plow was a one-seater, but they found a way to make it work. With the Inn on the other side of town, the pair had a long drive ahead of them, and plenty of time to catch up.

"I'll say it again, where does that pup get off?!" Marshall huffed.

"Marshall, he was kidding!" Everest giggled. "We all know we're way too young to go that far with each other!"

"I know!" Marshall laughed heartily. "I'm kidding, too! You didn't really think I was gonna hurt him, did you?"

"I dunno, man, even your EARS went red!"

It was slightly difficult for Everest to focus on the road for all of her laughter. Marshall laughed with her, of course, which made it even more difficult to focus, thanks to her being lost in the sound she thought that she'd never hear again. Eventually, Everest decided that she should probably pull over and calm down before she caused an accident of some kind, with the two pups throwing their arms around each other as they finally managed to slowly stop laughing.

"You know… It's actually kinda weird, when I think about it..." Everest said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Marshall replied.

"Well… Us running around after Chase? All that teasing and yelling? It all felt so… normal… It's like, well… nothing ever happened..."

Marshall froze. "Huh… I never actually thought about that… But… I guess you're right..."

"Wha-?! Hey, is that Marshall?!"

Suddenly, the two's blissful embrace was broken as they snapped to attention, looking to the sidewalk to notice a pair of civilians with aghast expressions.

"Err, wait, is it?" Everest stammered. "OH! This guy! No, th-th-that's impossible, he-he died, after all, I-I mean, there are more dalmatians in the world SORRYCANTTALKGOTTAGOBYE!!"

Everest suddenly floored it and went rocketing down the road away from the onlookers, with Marshall being thrown back in his seat from the speed.

"WHOA-!" Marshall yelped. "Everest! Careful!"

Everest soon slowed to a more reasonable speed. "Sorry… Whoo, too close..." she sighed.

"Didn't Chase say to drive safe?! You didn't have to do that!"

"I know, but I don't want to let Adventure Bay know you're OK, yet! I don't wanna go around spreading rumours!"

"But it's not rumours!"

"I know. But you wanna know what else I know? That the whole town has been wrapped up in thinking that you're dead. If I start telling everyone that you're alive, they won't believe me!"

"Then take me with you!"

"I've got a better idea, actually. When you're done with Tracker, I could take you to see Mayor Goodway, and we could get her to show everyone you're OK on TV?"

Marshall pawed at his chin thoughtfully. "It WOULD be faster, I guess…"

"AND Mayor Goodway can be surprised, too!"

Marshall paused to think about the idea for a while. But as the Adventure Bay Inn came into sight, Marshall made his mind up.

"Let's do it!" he declared.

"Alright!" Everest cheered. "But first, let's find Tracker."

As Everest pulled into the parking lot, she couldn't help but gulp, noticing that there were scant few places to park. Marshall stared at the sea of cars in awe. The Inn was almost never this busy. Did his "death" really draw so many people to Adventure Bay? As the pair hunted for a place to park, Marshall gasped.

"Hey, Everest! Look!" he cried.

"What? What is it?" Everest asked, before gasping herself on seeing what Marshall was pointing at.

Marshall was pointing at a somewhat smaller vehicle, looking suited for off-road driving, decked out in white. The pups immediately recognised it.

"Tracker's jeep!" they both cried.

"He's here! Alright!" Marshall cheered.

"We gotta find somewhere to park and go see him!" Everest replied.

It took a long time, but eventually, Everest found a place to park. She only wished it wasn't so far away, but with parking spaces at a premium, she took what she could get. Everest hopped out of her snowplow and started to move towards the Inn, only to realise that Marshall wasn't with her.

"Hey. Marshall. Something wrong?" she asked.

Marshall hadn't moved from the snowplow, sitting completely still, looking like there was something weighing on his mind.

"Hey, Everest?" he began quietly. "I… didn't wanna bring this up while you were driving, but…"

Everest had a feeling she knew what Marshall wanted to discuss. Something told her that it definitely would've interfered with her driving even more had he brought it up earlier.

"...Chase said that you'd… 'totally shut down' while I was gone. And Jake said that 'it broke you'. What… did he mean by that?"

"Marshall..." she replied. "Do you REALLY wanna know?" Everest looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"Everest, if you keep hanging on to it, it's only gonna make you feel worse. I'm worried about you too. Please?"

Everest stared at Marshall for a while before looking down and whimpering. "Chase and Jake… well, they're not wrong… I… don't remember very much about the last few days, but..."

* * *

_Darkness._

_It was all that surrounded Everest both inside and out. Naturally, tears were shed when Hello Adventure Bay came on and announced that one of her best friends had been unceremoniously and abruptly killed on a routine rescue. In fact, Everest had never cried as hard as she did before then. But the news also led to her normally indomitable spirit being completely shattered. Suddenly, nothing that mattered beforehand mattered now._

_When Everest had finally stopped crying into the blankets of her pet bed, her awareness of the world around her had dropped rapidly. She never bothered putting on the lights of her and Jake's room, instead laying in her pet bed in total silence, lacking the willpower to move so much as a single muscle or to think a single thought. On the outside, she was still breathing and existing. But on the inside, she was just as dead as Marshall was. She didn't even react to the light spilling in from the opening door. She barely even flinched as the hallway lights burned her eyes._

" _Ev? Hey, girl..."_

_The voice was soft and soothing, but Everest didn't even react to it. She didn't even notice Jake coming in carrying a bowl full of food for her._

" _C'mon, Ev, you can't just sit in the dark for two days..."_

_Jake flipped on the switch to his bedroom, bathing the room in a bright light. Everest only blinked. Jake had been doing the same thing periodically throughout the day. As depressed as he was over losing a friend so abruptly, he still had a pup of his own to care for. And now he had to care for his pup more than ever, since the news had caused her to stop caring for herself._

_Kneeling down on the floor beside her, setting the bowl down close to her snout, Jake gently laid a hand on Everest's head._

" _Girl, please… You can't keep doing this… You gotta eat..."_

_On some level, Jake's pleas were getting through to Everest. But it was usually a matter of if she cared enough to answer them. And right now, Everest didn't._

" _...look, Ev. I know how you feel. This whole thing with Marshall dying? It hurts me, too. Marshall was one of my friends too, you know? Heck, he was a friend to all of us. But… if you starve yourself like this… Think about it. Does that sound like something he'd want?"_

_Jake winced, bracing for a harsh retort from Everest. But nothing happened. Jake felt decidedly defeated. He was hoping to get any kind of reaction from his pup, in truth. All he wanted was for Everest to feel anything at all. This kind of extreme apathy was only going to lead to her end if it persisted._

" _Please, girl… Just eat something? For me?"_

_For a while longer, Everest remained as still as a statue. But then, she moved. Her condition was so bad that it was a shock to Jake if she even did anything more than blinking. Everest inched towards the bowl and took a tiny mouthful, chewing and swallowing it. Another pause ensued before she repeated the action, her eyes as lifeless as ever._

" _There ya go… That's more like it..." Jake soothed._

_Slowly, Everest managed to deplete half the bowl before moving back to her bed, settling back into her familiar emotionless rest._

" _Had enough?"_

_Everest didn't reply. Her eyes were as empty and dead as those of a corpse. She still breathed, but very slightly._

" _OK, I getcha..." Jake went on sadly, picking up the bowl and standing up. "I'm always ready to listen if you wanna talk this through, OK? Come see me anytime."_

_Jake had repeated that offer every time he'd gone to see Everest before he stepped out of the door, praying in vain that she'd take him up on it each time._

_But she never did._

* * *

Just hearing the extent of Everest's deep depression was enough to drive Marshall to tears. As Everest finished her story, the speckled pup sobbed uncontrollably before leaping out of the snowplow and throwing himself at her, hugging her as hard as he could.

"Everest-! I-I! I'm so sorry!" Marshall sobbed. "I-I didn't know… know it was THAT bad!"

Everest also began to weep, returning Marshall's hug. "Th-That's… That's why I yelled at you, earlier… Losing you… losing you did that to me… B-But… Please don't blame yourself… This wasn't your fault…"

The pair nuzzled each other in the middle of the parking lot, continuing to weep at hearing Everest's depressing story. It took them a little while to calm down again, during which the pair had attracted a crowd of onlookers with similarly aghast faces to the pair from before, with murmurs about the spotted pup rising from them. Though neither pup cared to pay them any mind.

"Everest..." Marshall whispered. "I've gotta ask one more thing… PLEASE don't blame Cali for what happened..."

"Cali?" Everest parroted. "I… kinda forgot about her, actually. And I really don't blame her, believe it or not."

Marshall froze and broke their hug, regarding Everest with a quizzical expression, slightly surprised that Everest failed to notice the cat. "You don't?"

"Sure! I mean, at first I was mad at Cali… But then I realised that she was just scared…" Everest looked down sadly. "If only her getting scared didn't knock you off your ladder… But I didn't blame her. I mean, I know you. You wouldn't have wanted me to."

These words filled Marshall with more joy than he thought. Lovingly poking his nose against Everest's, Marshall proceeded to lick the face of the giggling husky.

"Thank you, Everest…" Marshall whispered.

Everest responded by licking Marshall's nose for a few seconds, eliciting giggles from the dalmatian.

"C'mon, you silly pup… Let's go see Tracker."


	10. Wild Woe

The gasps and murmurs from the few people within the Inn were no different to the crowd that had gathered outside, astonished at the sight of the speckled pup who, just days ago, they were told had tragically died. Naturally, people couldn't help but talk about it.

"Is that… really him?"  
"No, he died on a rescue..."  
"But… did he survive?"  
"I mean, it sure looks a lot like Marshall..."  
"That's gotta be Marshall, right mommy?! He's alive!"  
"Shh, don't point, dear."

The lobby may have been abuzz with activity, but it was a fairly small room, enclosed by doorways on each wall. The thick carpeting and walls meant that every sound made reached the pair's ears. Marshall did his best not to whip around and declare to the crowd that they weren't seeing things, and that he was very much alive and well. All he could do was hope that someone didn't charge out of the crowd and confront him outright as he and Everest walked up to the reception desk.

"Erm, hello?" Everest said.

"...did someone just speak?" The receptionist asked, appearing at the tall, beige desk and looking around with a confused expression.

"Yeah, er… I did? No, not over there, this way… You're looking- er… no, down here..."

The receptionist, a brunette-haired young woman, looked down at Everest.

"Oh, Everest!" she said in surprise. "I'm sorry, I hope I wasn't keeping you-"

The receptionist cut herself off with a loud gasp upon seeing the pup next to her, locking eyes with the blue-eyed dalmatian next to the husky.

"...Everest, is… Is that Marshall?" the receptionist whispered.

Everest stopped herself before answering, looking directly at Marshall, who simply smirked.

"Maaaaaaybe." Marshall replied teasingly.

"We're looking for someone, actually." Everest interjected. "Tracker and Carlos. Are they staying here?"

The receptionist didn't reply for a few seconds.

"Err, yes, they are. One second and I'll tell you which room they're in."

The receptionist slowly moved over to the computer terminal and hesitantly started putting in some data. Clearly, the shock of seeing Marshall alive had blown her mind as much as anyone else. She took a long time in looking for the data she needed, but she finally spoke up after a while.

"Er, yes, Carlos and Tracker. They're in room 77, down that hallway there."

"Thanks a lot, miss!" Everest replied with a grin. "Marshall, let's- hey!"

"Don't fall behind, Everest!" Marshall was already at the door to the wing labelled "50-99".

"Ugh, I swear..." Everest grumbled, still smiling. "Thanks again!" she whipped around to the wing door. "Marshall! Wait up!" Everest swiftly charged off, leaving a thoroughly perplexed receptionist in her wake.

The halls were similarly thickly-carpeted. Just about every thud of a paw landing on the carpet could be heard easily. Amazingly, no-one else was in the halls as Everest tried her hardest to keep up with the excited dalmatian.

"Jeez, he's a fast runner..." Everest thought.

Soon, however, she finally caught up to Marshall after he had stopped outside of a large, dark brown door bearing a small plaque with the number "77" on it.

"Ugh… Hyper pup..." Everest wheezed.

"Slowpoke." Marshall replied with a smug grin.

Everest rolled her eyes in amusement.

Inside the room, the voices outside didn't even register. It was a small room with a double-sized bed and a TV, with a few dressers dotted around the room, along with a mirror and another door to a small bathroom. On the bed, an upset-looking boy with blue eyes of about ten years sat cradling a chihuahua pup in his arms. It had been this way since the moment they checked in. Unless they had to go and eat, neither of them had the willpower to do anything, aside from occasionally ask each other questions.

"¿Hey, mi cachorro?" Carlos asked.

"¿...si, Carlos?" Tracker replied glumly.

"Are you feeling OK?"

"...Carlos, Marshall's dead… How could I be OK?"

"OK, yeah, fair point. But you're not sick?"

"I guess not..."

Another conversation, another period of silence, with the occasional sigh thrown in.

"...how'd you think Ryder is?" Tracker asked.

Carlos cringed before answering his pup. "Well, mi perrito, Ryder's as close to those six pups as I am to you… If I lost you… I'd be… well… devastado… I wouldn't know what to do with myself… Think about that times a hundred..."

Tracker gave a sad, prolonged whine, to which Carlos tightened his hug. "Why can't we go help him, amigo? He… He must be so sad… I-I can barely imagine..."

"¡He tratado! I've tried! He's not answering his Pup Pad, Katie and Jake haven't seen him in days, I don't know what else to do!"

"Pero por que?! But why?! He needs us now more than ever!" Tracker couldn't hide a sniffle. "...the one time we can be there for the Paw Patrol, and… he's just shutting us out..."

"I… No lo sé, Tracker… I just don't know..." Carlos admittedly defeatedly, resting his head atop Tracker's.

The pup in Carlos' arms forced back tears before speaking again.

"...why does stuff like this happen to good people? I mean, we don't see them much, but I know Marshall wasn't a bad pup… What did he do to anyone?"

"...I..." Carlos tried to muster up a reply, but he knew nothing he said could put his pup at ease. "...sometimes, these things just happen, mi cachorro..."

"But…" Tracker began to cry again. "...e-eso es tan injusto... th-that's so unfair..."

"...Lo sé, mi amigo… I know..." Carlos whispered, gently stroking Tracker's back.

The atmosphere of gloom persisted in the room, despite the sunlight streaming through the windows. It seemed that nothing they'd do would ever make them happy again. But the gloom was swiftly dispelled by a rapid series of knocks at the door. The pair of them jumped. Neither of them were expecting visitors. Surely Katie or Jake would have called them before coming for a visit? It couldn't have been Ryder either.

"Wha-? Who could that be?" Tracker asked.

"¿Quién hay ahí? Who's there?" Carlos called.

For a few seconds, there was silence. As if whoever was on the other side of the door was playing with them. Neither of them were in the mood for games, but just before they could make it clear, a voice came from the other side of the door.

"It's the pizza guy!"

The voice caused Carlos to freeze in place. It struck him as extremely familiar, somehow. And his first thought was of something he thought impossible.

"Carlos… You… ordered pizza?" Tracker asked with a befuddled look.

"...no… I… didn't..." Carlos slowly replied, trying to process what he just heard.

"(That voice… It… It can't be...)" Carlos thought.

Slowly, Carlos put Tracker down on the bed, and swung his legs off the bed. He took some tentative steps towards the door, afraid of what might be waiting on the other side. Before taking the last step towards the door, he looked back at Tracker, who's wide, brown eyes indicated that he was having the same thoughts as his owner.

"Carlos… Is that..." Tracker asked.

"No… No, eso es imposible…" Carlos replied, sounding less certain of himself with every word.

Slowly working up the courage, Carlos took one last step forward, and opened the door as if it was the heaviest thing in the world. As more and more of the hallway revealed itself to him, it became apparent that there was something before the door. But when he realised what that something was, his heart seized up in his chest, his eyes being close to falling out of his head.

"Gueeeess whoooooooo?" The dalmatian sang playfully.

Carlos couldn't bring himself to muster up a response. Nor could Tracker, who had hopped down from the bed, and noticed some telltale black and white fur, along with a familiar voice. Tracker had fallen backwards onto his rear with his mouth hanging wide open.

"Marshall…?" Carlos whispered, kneeling down and laying a hand on his head.

"How does it feel?" Marshall asked. "Totally NOT like a ghost, right?"

"...I… I-I… I…" Carlos stammered, unable to stem the massive smile spreading across his face. "Y-You… You're..."

Tracker ended up finishing the flabbergasted Carlos' sentence.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!!!"

Carlos quickly found his leg being taken out from underneath him, sending him toppling backwards. Tracker had streaked across the floor and leapt at Marshall, sending him onto his back and unknowingly catching Everest, too. Carlos scrambled to pick himself up in time to see Tracker giving Marshall the face-licking of a lifetime, with all three pups barking and laughing uproariously. In fact, all three of them were laughing to the point to tears.

It didn't take long for Carlos to join in, finding himself unable to stop laughing as he grabbed the three pups in a massive group hug. He quickly found himself getting soaked from the triple face-licking that he was getting, along with the mirthful tears streaming down his cheeks. Amazingly, no-one came to investigate what all of the noise was. But even if they had, none of them would've cared.

Soon, everyone had finally calmed down enough to string together coherent sentences, with Carlos being the first to speak.

"Marshall, I-! I-I-! I can't believe it's you! How did-?! I-I, we-! We all thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot..." Marshall replied, giggling.

"Why do ya think that is, huh?!" Tracker laughed. "There were news reports, a funeral planned, everything!"

"And all the mourning, don't forget!" Everest added.

"Ah, wait, what are all sitting around for?!" Carlos asked, getting to his feet. "C'mon! Come in! Come in!"

Carlos swiftly herded the pups inside and shut the door behind them. He didn't want anyone coming by and interrupting his moment with them. He clambered onto the bed, with Everest, Marshall and Tracker all joining him, snuggling close to him as the boy wrapped his arms around all three of them.

"So, Marshall..." Carlos began. "How exactly do you survive being dropped into a fast-flowing river?"

"And how did you survive after getting washed three days downstream?" Tracker added.

Marshall stole a quick glance at Everest.

"Hey, I wanna know too, y'know?"

Marshall took a breath in. "Well… Hope you're all comfy. It's a long story..."

For the third time that day, Marshall told his story of the past three days to the group, making sure to spare few details of his hike. While Everest whimpered and nuzzled into Marshall's side, Tracker and Carlos listened in awe, not only of Marshall's resilience, but of how Tracker's lessons proved crucial to Marshall's survival.

"Marshall, you're… You're totally overblowing it..." Tracker said. "Th-There's no way my lessons helped you that much… I mean, after all, we barely help the Paw Patrol, anyway..."

Marshall couldn't help but give Tracker a bewildered look. "What's THAT supposed to mean? I am NOT overblowing it! I saw a bush full of red berries at one point, y'know? If it weren't for your lessons, I would've chowed down right there!"

Suddenly, Tracker's eyes shot open. "E-Espera un minuto! Wait a minute! Y-You actually remembered that?!"

"I'm not a good liar, Tracker. You said it yourself: 'If you're not sure, it's probably poison.' Plus, I wouldn't have even thought to try eating leaves if you hadn't told us about it."

Tracker stared at Marshall in awe. "I… I can't believe it… I didn't actually think my lessons would be good for something..."

"Tracker, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead!" Marshall replied with a disbelieving laugh. "I-I don't know how to thank you!"

Tracker stared on for a little while longer, before looking away sadly. "Well, I mean… I guess being useful is enough… for once..."

Marshall fell into a shocked silence. He himself was no stranger to talk like that himself, worrying about his clumsiness getting in the way of his duties. Ryder and the pups, however, always remained adamant that Marshall was the firepup and EMT of the team for a reason. So to hear these words coming from Tracker of all pups hit him hard.

"Tracker, wh-!" Marshall spluttered. "Wh-What the heck are you talking about?! What do you mean 'being useful'?!"

"WE'RE NEVER THERE FOR YOU!!" Tracker yelled back, shocking Marshall into silence again. "At least Everest lives closer to you guys! We're always miles away in the jungle! When something bad happens in Adventure Bay, we're running around in the jungle! Whenever you need extra pups, we're too far away to be useful! When a pup dies and we probably could've stopped it we were too busy poking around temples!"

Tracker soon started sniffling, clearly distressed to the point of angry tears. Carlos didn't waste any time in pulling his upset pup close to him and rubbing his back.

"Marshall… Did you know that when we went to pay our respects at the Lookout, we didn't even say anything to the pups?" Carlos asked sombrely.

"Actually, Chase did tell me that..." Marshall replied.

"Chase? But he wasn't even there..."

"He heard a lot while he was shut away in his Pup House..."

"Anyway, do you wanna know why? It's because we both… well, we didn't feel like we deserved to talk to you…" Carlos looked down and closed his eyes. "We're never there for the Paw Patrol, so… What right did we have to try and help make things better?"

Marshall couldn't believe that Carlos and Tracker thought this way. Neither could Everest, who sat at Marshall's side with an expression of shock on her face. As much as Marshall wanted to tell them how wrong they were, he had one question on his mind first.

"Guys… How… did you get the news?"

Carlos sighed. "Skye told us… Well, she told Tracker… We were both in our tent, then..."

* * *

_Carlos was no stranger to having to comfort Tracker. After all, as brave as he was in facing the dark and whatever unknown tricks and traps the jungle threw at him, Tracker was still as much of a child as the rest of the Paw Patrol. Even Jake was still a teenager, and Carlos was no older than Ryder._

_Naturally, the pair were worried when a tearful Skye had contacted them over Tracker's Pup Tag out of the blue. But when Skye told them why she was so upset, it felt like the world was ending. They never once thought about one of the Paw Patrol dying in action. They may have been distant friends, but they were still friends that the two held close. And now knowing that they couldn't have been there in their time of need was causing them more pain than they thought, leaving the pair of them crying in their tent as they tried to come to terms with the loss of a friend._

" _W-Why?! Why did this happen, Carlos?! WHY?!!" Tracker sobbed._

" _I-I don't know, Tracker! I-I don't know why it happened!" Carlos replied tearfully._

" _M-Marshall can't be dead!! He's gotta b-be f-faking it!"_

" _W-Why would Skye be that upset, then?!"_

" _Because he's doing a good job of faking it, that's why!"_

" _How do you know that?!"_

" _I-I don't know! I-I just DO!"_

" _Stop kidding yourself, Tracker! Marshall's dead and that's the end of it!"_

" _SH-SHUT UP!! MARSHALL! IS! NOT! DEAD!"_

_It was no use. Tracker was stuck deep in a trench of denial. And right now, nothing would get him out of it. Carlos didn't want it to be true, either. But Skye wouldn't have called them in such a state unless she was absolutely certain that Marshall was dead. And after all, a river that fast would be impossible for even the likes of Zuma to swim in. Having played around in the forest at one point with the rest of the Paw Patrol gave Carlos a good idea of what river everyone was referring to._

_Carlos desperately tried not to think about how Marshall felt as he was dragged under the currents and drowned or worse. But above all, Carlos felt the worst for Ryder. He hadn't had Tracker for as long as Ryder had had his six pups, but Carlos was still very close to Tracker. If Carlos was as close as he was to his pup, he could only imagine how Ryder was after losing one of them._

_But after a few more minutes of holding the crying chihuahua close, Tracker suddenly began to cry even harder._

" _W-we don't deserve to be called 'Paw Patrol'!!" Tracker sobbed. "How can we… call ourselves… p-part of the team when we're… a-always away from them?!"_

_Carlos didn't even reply to Tracker's observation. Deep down, he took his pup's words as completely right. Perhaps they could have done something to stop Marshall from falling. Maybe they could have at least been there to comfort them when things ever got bad. But as it stood, they barely ever went within a few feet of them. What right would they have to call themselves part of the Paw Patrol if they barely ever went near each other?_

" _C-Carlos… Marshall… M-Marshall… can't be… dead..." Tracker whimpered._

" _Lo… siento, mi cachorro… I'm so sorry..." Carlos whispered in grief._

" _This… is so unfair..."_

" _Lo sé, Tracker… But even if we can't be there for Ryder and the pups… The least we can do is say adios to Marshall… We can at least go to his funeral..."_

" _B-But… We shouldn't… have to b-be saying adios in the first place… M-Marshall… w-wasn't even done… was he?"_

" _No… No, he wasn't..."_

_Although the two would eventually pack up their belongings and get going to Adventure Bay to check into the Adventure Bay Inn, they both remained where they were, hugging each other and letting the tears continue flowing. As much as they had to pay their respects, they both realised that they'd have to do it of their own accords, rather than as part of the Paw Patrol._

_After all, they could barely consider themselves part of the now permanently-broken team._

* * *

"You can't be serious..." Marshall whispered, feeling like he was about to be ill.

"We're dead serious..." Carlos replied. "We don't feel like we deserved to even be near any of you…"

"We could've done something if we were actually there!" Tracker yelled, his face still buried in Carlos' chest. "In fact… Maybe we'd be better off leaving..."

Marshall and Everest felt their stomachs drop. It was true, they didn't see Tracker and Carlos very often. But he had no idea that they felt so strongly about it. But Marshall didn't care that they barely saw each other. Deciding that both of them were being ridiculous, Marshall shifted in Carlos' arms and moved over to Tracker, before taking one of his immense ears in his mouth and gently chewing on it.

"EEK-!!" Tracker shrieked, jumping at the sensation coming from his ears. "Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee! M-Marshall-! Ha ha, stoppit-! Ha ha ha ha ha! M-My-My ears are very, very ticklish-! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Mmmnngghhmmph, ngho..." Marshall mumbled around the gigantic ear he was sinking his teeth into, while being unable to keep from giggling himself.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! S-stoppit! Ha ha ha! Please! Hee hee hee hee hee!" Tracker squirmed in Carlos' arms, trying to wrest his ear away from the dalmatian gnawing on it to no avail.

"Hey, don't keep him to yourself!" Everest finally chimed in, moving over and taking Tracker's other ear in her mouth.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!! E-EVEREST! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NOOOOO!" Tracker howled, swiftly turning hysterical as his sensitive ears became a snack for the dalmatian and husky. "C-CARLOS, HEHEHELP MEEEE HEE HEE HEE HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Carlos couldn't help but give an amused grin. "Guys… err… Stop eating my pup? ¿Por favor? I think he's turning red."

Respecting Carlos' wishes, Marshall and Everest both let go, allowing Tracker to catch his breath for a little while.

"Mmm..." Marshall mumbled. "That wasn't bad, actually… Maybe this is an acquired taste?"

"Wh… Wh… What was that for?" Tracker panted.

"Well, because you were acting like such a butt!" Marshall retorted. "I mean, wanting to leave the Paw Patrol over being far away? Really? Not deserving to talk to us? That's ridiculous!"

"You can't really think that you don't deserve to be part of the Paw Patrol because of all of that?" Everest added.

"B-But..." Carlos stammered. "We're never there for you… When you need us, we aren't there… We almost never talk, so… How can we even be called Paw Patrol?"

Marshall sighed. "Jeez, you're both sillier than me… Do you really think we care that we don't see you too much? If we stopped liking you because we didn't see you that much, don't you think we would've kicked you by now? Which, by the way, we'd never do? Plus, Zuma said that Skye tried to talk to you and you didn't say anything. Do you think that Skye would've tried talking to you if you didn't deserve to be near us?"

"Marshall's right!" Everest declared. "It doesn't matter how long we go without seeing you two! You're our friends! Nothing's gonna change that! Heck, I can probably count the amount of times I've seen you on one paw. Does that I mean I don't like you? No."

"You could be miles away and we wouldn't see you for months. But that doesn't change the fact that we all love you as much as we do each other. You're both as much a part of our family as Everest or Chase. In the end, we don't treasure you any less for not being around all the time. You two are Paw Patrol through and through."

When Marshall had finally finished, both Tracker and Carlos were staring at him and Everest with their jaws hanging slightly agape. Neither of them could believe what they had just told them. In a few seconds, Marshall and Everest had torn their viewpoints to shreds, and that their guilt was all for naught.

"Marshall… Everest..." Carlos whispered with a happy sniffle.

"Guys… I..." Tracker stammered. "I… Y-You..."

Tracker couldn't even complete his sentence before leaping into Marshall and Everest's arms with tears streaming down his face. Almost immediately after, Carlos quickly leaned forward and hugged the three of them as tightly as he could.

"Urghk-!" Everest choked. "C-Carlos-! T-Too tight! Can't… breathe!"

"I-! I'm too happy to let go!" Carlos sobbed joyfully.

"It-It's your own fault!" Tracker added. "You say things like that to us and-and expect us NOT to do this?!"

"Guilty… as… charged..." Marshall wheezed. He'd had quite enough of having the strength of his spine tested today. The thought of a strongman competition in Adventure Bay crossed his mind for a few seconds, before he and Everest were finally able to breathe again as Tracker and Carlos finally let up.

"Amigos…" Tracker whispered. "You have no idea how badly we needed to hear that..."

"Actually, I think we did." Everest replied.

"That's why we said it." Marshall added. "And it's totally true. We don't want you feeling bad. Feeling like you could've done something. Like we said: You're our friends. And nothing's gonna change that."

Carlos tightened his hug again. "Thanks, guys… For everything… Marshall… We're so happy you came back..."

It was then that everything fell silent. A wave of relief and tranquility washed over the room as the boy and three pups hugged each other. The atmosphere had gone from heavy and sad to lighthearted and peaceful in the space of a few minutes. The lingering guilt felt by Tracker and Carlos had been entirely dispersed, and in its place was a feeling of peace unrivaled by anything. And for about five minutes, the silence was completely unbroken.

"Hey, Marshall?" Carlos eventually piped up.

"What's up?" Marshall replied.

"...did you actually bring pizza?"

Whether Carlos' icebreaking question was asked in earnest or in jest didn't matter to the group. All three of the pups were on the same wavelength with their response, and the collective laughter that followed it from all four of them.

"Caaarlooos!"


	11. Hollow

"Maybe you're luckier than you thought, Marshall?" Everest posited.

"Maybe, but I think if I was actually lucky, this wouldn't have happened in the first place." Marshall replied.

"It's more amazing than you'd think to not see any wild animals for three days, amigo." Tracker said.

"And no rain at all, remember." Carlos added.

After the pups and Carlos had shared the first good laugh that they'd had in a long while, Tracker, being the explorer that he was, wanted to hear more about how Marshall survived in the forest. The chihuahua was still amazed that his survival lessons to the pups had come in handy.

"Still, if Tracker hadn't taught us what to do if you got lost in the wild..." Marshall looked down at the bed. "...I'd… probably be dead..."

Marshall's assessment was greeted with whining and Carlos reaching over to sympathetically scratch the dalmatian's head.

"I still can't believe that my lessons actually helped you…" Tracker whispered. "...I never thought one of you would ever need them..."

"Hey." Marshall retorted. "When you think about it, you saved me. You're the reason I'm still alive right now. If that's not worth being a member of the Paw Patrol, I don't know what is."

Tracker couldn't hide a sniffle before he moved over to Marshall and lovingly nuzzled him.

"...Muchas gracias, Marshall..."

Marshall only just got to nuzzle Tracker back before another knock at the door startled them apart.

"Ah! Is that the others?" Everest asked.

"Hello? Who is it?" Carlos called through the door.

A familiar female voice came through the door to answer him.

"Carlos? It's Skye and the Paw Patrol. Can we talk? Please?"

"Skye?" Carlos parroted, jolting to attention. "¡Un momento, por favor!"

With a surprising degree of enthusiasm, Carlos quickly swung his legs off of the bed and dropped to the floor, hurrying over to the door and opening it without hesitation. And in the hallways staring back at him were eight pairs of eyes. Five belonging to pups, and three belonging to humans.

"Amigos! Hey!" Carlos greeted. "Everyone's inside! Come in!"

Carlos wasted no time in letting everyone file into his room. The pups all hopped onto the bed one by one, sitting by Marshall and Tracker. Carlos moved to the side of the bed while Katie, Ryder and Jake all stood at the foot of it.

"Lo siento, amigos, it's a little cramped." Carlos began. "How are you all?"

"Well, I THINK we're OK..." Katie replied, shooting a disapproving scowl at Ryder, who was too busy staring at his shoes to notice anything.

"You 'think'?" Carlos replied. "Ryder sure doesn't look OK..."

"Hey, Carlos?" Chase piped up, beckoning the boy forward with his paw.

Carlos kneeled down so that Chase could whisper in his ear. He didn't have far to walk, and Chase didn't take long in filling him in. But a few seconds later, an expression of horror spread across Carlos and Tracker's faces. Being next to Chase, Tracker was able to hear him effortlessly.

"...I see..." Carlos whispered, staring at Ryder, who again, was clearly making an effort to avoid anyone's gazes.

Jake cleared his throat. "Can I say something?" he said in a bid to steer the conversation onto a different path. "Everest. Marshall. Why'd ya run off like that?"

Both pups gulped loudly.

"W-well…" Marshall began guiltily. "I… really wanted to see Tracker… I didn't want him to think I was still dead for much longer… When I heard he was staying at the Inn, I… wanted to get there as soon as I could… Everest offered to take me..."

Jake turned to Everest. "Is that true, Ev?"

"...yeah..." Everest whispered. "I… mostly just wanted an excuse to have Marshall to myself for a little while..." Everest's words attracted a look of surprise from a certain pink-eyed cockapoo. "I knew that I shouldn't have left you all behind… We're sorry..." Everest looked down at the bed.

Jake sighed. "That wasn't cool of you two. You both know better than that. Don't do it again, OK? We don't want any of you running off on us, ya hear?"

"Yes, Jake..." The pair replied simultaneously.

Satisfied with the pair's answer, Jake directed an expectant glance at Ryder, who still hadn't stopped staring at his shoes. Jake upgraded it into a nudge when it became clear that the boy wasn't going to look at him.

"...what Jake said..." Ryder whispered flatly.

Jake could only sigh in response, while Katie shook her head sadly as Carlos looked on in fear.

"Well, anyway..." Tracker cut in. "I've got something I wanna say too, por favor."

"What is it, Tracker?" Skye replied.

"Well… I wanna apologise to all of you… Especially you, Skye…"

Suddenly, all eyes were intently on the chihuahua. All eyes with the exception of one pair.

"You tried to talk to us when we came to pay our respects… But we didn't say anything. You wanna know why?" Tracker paused briefly. "It's because we didn't feel like we had any right to talk to you. We're never there for all of you… I mean, after we thought Marshall was dead, it felt like we could've done something if we were there, and yet we never do anything besides mess around in the jungle… So how could we call ourselves Paw Patrol if we're only there for Christmas and Thanksgiving and whatever?"

"WHAT?!" Chase shrieked. "That's ridiculous!"

"Dude, shh. Let him finish." Zuma whispered, tapping Chase's shoulder with his paw.

"It's OK, Zuma." Tracker continued. "I mean, he's right. We never talked to you and stayed away because we were acting muy tonto. Really dumb. You all needed us and we needed you. We were just… well, equivocado!"

Tracker stopped to survey the sea of confused looks he was getting.

"Er… wrong."

"Ahhhhh..." the pups said collectively.

"So… What I'm trying to say is… Lo siento mucho. I'm really sorry. I don't know if you'll forgive me, but..."

"Lo que dijo. What he said." Carlos continued. "I felt like that too. But I'm really sorry, too. Heh, you guys can thank Marshall and Everest for setting us straight."

To punctuate his point, Carlos pointed at the husky and dalmatian grinning sheepishly on the bed. After Carlos finished speaking, there was a brief pause before Rocky was the first to respond.

"We don't forgive you."

"WHA-?! Rocky!" Rubble barked scoldingly.

"Because we don't have anything to forgive you for." the mix continued.

Another pause.

"Ugh, Rocky, you suck!" Rubble huffed, shoving him while being unable to keep the grin off of his face. Tracker burst out laughing at the sight.

"Gotcha." Rocky sneered before breaking into giggles.

"You're right. You were wrong." Chase interjected. "I can't believe you'd think you didn't belong with the Paw Patrol just because you're not always around. Everest's not always around. Does that mean she doesn't belong? We wouldn't turn our backs on you for that."

"We know that what happened to Mawshall huwt you guys too." Zuma added. "If we weren't that close, do you weally think you woulda felt upset about Mawshall? Don't think I didn't notice your faces. You looked like you were gonna cwy the whole time you were thewe."

The ensuing silence gave Tracker and Carlos time to ponder what Zuma had said. They had to admit, the little labrador had a point. To the extent that they were slightly startled when Skye finally spoke.

"Guys… I'm not gonna lie. When I talked to you and you didn't say anything… it hurt. I admit, back then I thought you were just ignoring me. But I wish I knew THAT'S how you felt! We could've talked about it! If I was sad, I know I'd wanna talk about it!"

When Skye saw Tracker and Carlos looking down again, she saw fit to quickly move on.

"Look, it doesn't matter how long we spend away from each other. You're as much a part of this family as any pup in this room. I'll accept your apology only if you promise to never think like that again. Don't be that silly again. If either of you are feeling down, you come right to us first. Can you do that for me? Please?"

Partway through Skye's speech, Tracker and Carlos both looked back at her.

"¡Nosotros prometemos!" the pair shouted in unison. "We promise!"

Skye giggled briefly. "Thanks, guys..."

Carlos moved over to Skye and reached out to pet her, only to be intercepted by the cockapoo licking his hand, prompted giggles from the boy. For a while, everyone watched the scene unfolding in front of them, with most of them at least somewhat glad that Skye seemed a little happier. But soon, everything fell back into silence, until Katie spoke up again.

"So… What are you all gonna do, now?"

Marshall turned to look at her. "Well, I wanted to see Mayor Goodway next. I talked to Everest about it, and we thought the best way to get the word out would be to go on TV. Make it official."

Skye gasped softly. "That's right, Mayor Goodway hasn't gotten the news yet… But it looks like people already know, actually."

"Yeah, when we finally found places to park, people started to surround us. Say they think they saw you earlier." Rocky explained. "Heck, they all looked like they'd seen a ghost."

"And that was when they weren't making a fuss about Ryder." Rubble added. "They all sounded really worried about him, too."

"You know Mayow Goodway's wowwied about Wyder, too?" Zuma asked. "I think seeing her'd be a gweat idea."

"Hey, guys. Can I come?" Tracker piped up.

"Duh!" Chase replied. "It'd be weird if you didn't!"

All but one person there giggled at Chase's assessment.

"So… How're we gonna tell Mayor Goodway that Marshall's OK?" Everest asked.

Marshall looked at her with puzzlement. "I thought it was YOUR idea?"

"...I… didn't really think this through..." Everest admitted with an embarrassed, toothy grin.

Marshall facepalmed at hearing this, but couldn't stop himself from snickering. "Urgh… silly pup..."

Everest went wide-eyed. "Hey! I do NOT wanna hear that from you!" she snapped with an uncontrollable grin on her face, prompting even more giggling.

"...leave him with me."

Suddenly, everyone immediately fell silent, looking towards the source of the flat, emotionless speech.

"Ryder?" Katie asked.

"I'll take him and call her." Ryder went on, with the same flat intonation.

"'Take him'? Take him where?" Jake asked.

"I dunno… Just… somewhere private, I guess. I'll come back when I'm done..."

Everyone shared nervous, uncertain glances with each other.

"Well… if you want..." Carlos agreed. "Don't take too long, OK?"

"Uh-huh..." Ryder mumbled. "Marshall?"

Marshall stopped for a second, before slowly hopping off of the bed, working his way past Katie and Jake and following Ryder out of Carlos' room door, where the boy shut the door behind him and slowly made his way down the hall.

"Ryder, are you OK?" Marshall asked quickly, after he was certain that they were alone. "Did you have enough to eat? I'm sorry we all yelled at you, but we were all so worried! Please don't be sad! We can help you patch-"

"Marshall…" Ryder sharply interrupted, before deflating to a more depressed, defeated tone. "Please, just… Not now..."

Marshall felt his heart breaking from his owner's rebuke. It seemed that Ryder was deliberately closing himself off to everyone. It was plain as day that he was feeling absolutely terrible. Despite his overjoyed laughter at the beginning of the day, he was still incredibly pale and he looked like a raccoon from the dark circles around his eyes. Eyes that had lost their usual life-loving shine. Even though he was deliriously-happy upon Marshall's return, Ryder's overwhelming happiness lacked permanence. Marshall only shook himself from his thoughts when Ryder came to a halt at the end of the hallway.

"This'll do, I think..." Ryder mumbled audibly, before pressing his back against the wall and slumping to the floor.

Slowly, hesitantly, Ryder pulled out his Pup Pad. It was only now that Marshall noticed the large cracks snaking across the screen.

"Whoa..." Marshall mumbled. "What happened to the Pup Pad?"

Marshall only found himself hurt more when Ryder simply ignored his question. But he simply watched as Ryder turned on the screen and cycled through the list of contacts. Arriving at Mayor Goodway's icon, the boy paused as he reached out to tap it.

"Ryder?" Marshall said. "What's wrong? Why'd you stop?"

Ryder, once more, remained quiet. But only for a few seconds. He seemed physically incapable of moving his arm forward and touching the Mayor's icon.

"You ready to talk to her, Marshall?" Ryder whispered.

"Yeah, of course! I'm fired up!" Marshall declared, trying to bring at least a little light into the situation.

"...good. Because I'm not..."

Marshall couldn't suppress a whine at his apparent failure to lighten the mood.

"(Oh, Ryder… Why are you shutting us out?)" he thought.

Finally, Ryder seemed to muster the courage to reach out and tap the screen. The call began to connect, and the two listened as the tone sounded for what felt like forever. But their wait only lasted five seconds, even though it felt several times as long in their estimation. Ryder made sure that Marshall was standing far enough out of frame just before the call finished connecting and the image of a black-clad woman with a shocked expression appeared on the screen.

"Ryder! Oh my goodness, it really IS you!" Mayor Goodway cried.

"Yep…" Ryder squeaked. "I guess it is… How, er… are you?"

"How am I?! Young man, you've had us all worried sick!" she replied scoldingly. It was remarkable how much she sounded like a disapproving mother giving her own child a stern talking-to.

"...s-sorry..."

"Honestly, look at you! You're a mess! How could you shut yourself away the way you did?! I'll bet that you haven't been eating nearly enough for a boy your age!"

That remark seemed to push Ryder close to the edge of a breakdown. He'd already been feeling like a terrible human being, but now he was feeling even more so. The boy screwed his eyes shut and fought back tears as best he could. But he still couldn't stop himself from sniffling. Suddenly, Mayor Goodway's tone shifted.

"Oh, Ryder, please don't cry..." she comforted. "I know that you must be going through a lot, but we were all so worried about you… I know it doesn't feel like it a lot of the time, but you and the pups are all still only children… There's only so much that any of you can handle… especially at a time like this."

Even Marshall felt like sobbing upon seeing his owner fight back tears.

"Please, Ryder… Let us in… We're all worried about you… We know you must be crushed… Pushing everyone away? Locking yourself in the Lookout? That's only going to make everything far worse… Please, let us help you!"

Ryder paused for a second, before managing to choke out a wavering sentence.

"I'm… I-I-I-I'm a... horrible... person..."

"No. You're. Not. I won't have you saying that about yourself, young man. Do you think Marshall would want you thinking like that?"

Ryder froze for a second. Slowly, he managed to open his eyes, confident that he wasn't going to burst into tears and a mess of insults and attacks directed at himself. A smirk began creeping across his face.

"I dunno… Should I ask him?"

Mayor Goodway's expression shifted again. Her mouth twisted into into a curious frown and her hazel eyes narrowed into a quizzical stare.

"Ryder… Wh-whatever do you mean?"

Ryder giggled to himself briefly. "I mean that Marshall came back to the Lookout last night! He's alive!"

Mayor Goodway had completely frozen up on the screen. For a moment, Ryder wondered if her connection had been broken. But the presence of a leaf on the wind let Ryder know that the connection was completely fine, and that Mayor Goodway had apparently turned into a nonplussed statue for several seconds.

"...S-Sorry, Ryder, but I think my connection must be cutting out. I don't think I heard you right. For a second, it sounded like you just said that Marshall was alive." Mayor Goodway said in complete disbelief.

"You heard right." Ryder replied with an unusual degree of levity to his voice. "Want me to ask him?"

"Ryder… Please, this isn't healthy. I don't want Marshall to be dead any more than you do… Losing him hurt me, too… But please don't deny it..."

"Awooooooo! This is the puppy ghooooooost!"

Both parties jumped at the sudden interjection from the pup standing off-camera. Ryder glanced up at the grinning pup standing next to him, and fought back the urge to snicker while shaking his head. Mayor Goodway, however, looked as if she really had seen a ghost, becoming ashen-faced and looking like she was on the verge of dropping her phone.

"Ryder..." Mayor Goodway whispered. "...what… what in the world was that? Was that… actually Marshall?"

Ryder continued to grin enigmatically. "Why don't I come down to City Hall and show you? I'll be there in two shakes of a pup's tail!"

Mayor Goodway still took a while to respond. "I-I mean… Y-Yes, of course… Don't… take long?"

Ryder laughed briefly. "Don't worry, we won't. See you in a little while!"

"Briiiiiiing treeeeeeeats!"

Ryder had to hang up the call before he burst into uncontrollable giggles. Looking over at Marshall, Ryder reached over and rubbed the pup's head. Marshall was surprised at how good it felt. Despite being under several layers of depression and misery, Ryder's old, fun-loving, childish self was still there. And this gave Marshall a flickering spark of hope that he could bring it back out.

"So… How do you think he is?" Carlos asked.

Katie sighed heavily. "We don't know. Maybe we were a little too hard on him… I mean, he worried us sick when he nearly gave out, but maybe we should've been a little gentler… I mean, he obviously still feels terrible about nearly losing Marshall..."

"Hey. At least we got him to eat." Jake added. "That's something, right?"

"Maybe." Katie replied. "But forcing him probably wasn't the best thing to do..."

Back in Carlos' room, things had fallen quiet yet again, save for the odd murmur amongst the pups. Ryder's dreary, near-emotionless state had worried them all, but no-one knew what to say. Skye only kept her mouth shut the entire time, now feeling even worse about yelling at Ryder. To the extent that it came as a relief when Ryder eventually knocked at the door again. Jake, being nearest the door, quickly moved to open it.

"So?" Jake began.

"We're going to City Hall." Ryder replied. "We're gonna go see Mayor Goodway in person."

"You told her, right?"

"Well, I didn't..." Ryder gave Marshall a knowing smirk. "...but he dropped a few hints..."

Jake chuckled softly as Marshall returned Ryder's smile.

Even as the entire group moved back to the parking lot where all of their vehicles waited for them, the amazed stares and hushed speculation regarding the spotted pup in their group followed them the whole time. Marshall was still half-expecting someone to charge out from the crowd and confront him. But this never happened as everyone arrived at their vehicles and set out from the Inn.

The drive to City Hall was fairly uneventful. The roads were mostly devoid of traffic, but what few cars there were pulled over quickly when they saw the huge fleet of colorful vehicles driving down the road: a shocking symbol of the return of the town's protectors after losing one of their own. That same one rode with Chase, owing to his current lack of a vehicle. Katie rode alongside Skye in her helicopter, Jake rode on a modified snowmobile and Carlos managed to squeeze into Tracker's jeep, with Ryder leading the pack.

With the clear roads, the entire pack soon arrived at City Hall. But the sight of the familiar building made Marshall shiver. In his frantic run back to the Lookout, he never took the time to notice that City Hall was decorated with black banners bearing his flame emblem, along with a few portraits of him dotted around the courtyard. Had he not known better, Marshall may have mistaken it as some kind of celebration in his honour. But this was far from a jubilant occasion. Even as Chase parked, Marshall barely moved. Out of the corner of his eye, Chase noticed that Marshall had gone wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Marshall, what is it? Is somethi-"

Chase didn't finish his sentence before seeing what Marshall was looking at and adopting a similar expression of vacant shock.

"...were those… always there?" Marshall whispered.

"I… I dunno..." Chase replied distantly. "I guess those were put up for your funeral..."

A cold chill ran down both pups' spines. Everywhere they looked, they were given reminders of the greatest tragedy that never was.

"Guys..."

The two were suddenly jolted from their stupors to see Everest looking up at them.

"You don't wanna keep Mayor Goodway waiting, do you?"

"E-Err, no, o-of course not." Marshall replied, still in the process of returning to Earth.

In a hurry to get out of Chase's truck, Marshall swiftly leapt from his seat, only to catch his paws on the side and faceplant into the ground.

"I'm OK!"

Marshall didn't remember the Courtyard being as long as it was. But then, the pup's mind was playing tricks on him. He was admittedly slightly nervous about talking to Mayor Goodway again, after she had gone to the effort of helping Skye plan his funeral, but he still had Chase and Everest at his back, gently urging him forward. After what felt like an eternity, Marshall finally found himself at the door alongside Chase and Everest. Hesitating only briefly Marshall finally raised his paw and rapped the heavy door in front of him three times. Even though it only took half a minute for the door to open, it felt far longer. But the door eventually swung open to reveal the plump, black-clad figure of Mayor Goodway looking down at him, and after a second, gasping loudly.

"Hi, Mayor Go-"

"Oh, my goodness! It IS you!" Mayor Goodway cried before scooping Marshall off of the floor and into her arms. "You're alive! You're actually alive! You're OK!"

Marshall found the Mayor's enthusiasm contagious. It didn't take him long before he was laughing along with her and licking her face just as he had so many times before as everyone else watched on with warm smiles.

"Oh, my- Marshall-! You- You came back! You're- You're actually-!" Mayor Goodway stammered, seemingly incapable of formulating a sentence as she continued to hug the embattled dalmatian.

"Hey, it's good to see you too, Mayor Goodway!" Marshall replied cheerily.

"Oh, wait! Of course! Herbert! Come quick! There's something you need to see!" Mayor Goodway turned around and shouted into the building.

"Huh? Herbert?" Marshall parroted.

Soon, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the hallways of City Hall.

"Gladys?" a familiar voice called. "What's going on?"

"Gladys?" Marshall echoed with an amused grin, looking straight at the Mayor.

"Oh, shush." Mayor Goodway replied playfully.

"Is there someone there with y-"

The voice stopped dead when its owner came through the open door. Standing there with a wide-eyed look of shock was a portly man with a blonde mustache and light-brown eyes clad in a black suit with a similarly-black top hat.

"Hey! Mayor Humdinger!" Marshall cried with a surprising amount of elation.

"MARSHALL?!" Humdinger yelled. "You're… a-alive?!"

"I know! I'm as shocked as you!"

Humdinger made a beeline towards Mayor Goodway and the pup in her arms.

"B-B-But how can this be?! Nobody could survive falling into a river like that! Th-There's so many rocks, and-and how did you not drown?! I-I mean, even Zuma couldn't swim in tha-"

"Oh, just be quiet and join in, will you?" Mayor Goodway interrupted with an amused grin.

At that point, Humdinger clammed up, ceasing his astonished ranting. For a moment, he stared at Marshall and Mayor Goodway, before a genuine, non-scheming smile spread over the man's face. Wasting no more time, Humdinger rushed in and threw his arms around Marshall and Mayor Goodway.

If it wasn't for the fact that a major tragedy had just been averted, the whole group would've considered the image of Mayor Humdinger hugging not only Mayor Goodway, but one of their own along with her, to be highly surreal and bizarre. But that thought had never crossed their minds even once as they watched on. In a way, it was oddly-heartwarming that their longtime nemesis was standing in such solidarity with them. But after a long group hug, Mayor Humdinger finally spoke up again.

"Marshall… How in the world are you even here? I mean, I'm sure you saw all the banners outside… we all thought you were dead!"

Marshall smirked and rolled his eyes. "OK, if I had a treat for every time I heard that today, I'd be one fat pup..."

Both mayors couldn't keep themselves from laughing out loud, along with the rest of the group.

"It doesn't make it any less true, Marshall." Mayor Goodway said. "This whole thing has been nothing short of a complete tragedy for the whole town. The fact that Mayor Humdinger is here should be enough proof of that."

"And I bet you never thought you'd be happy to see me, huh?" Mayor Humdinger asked with a cheeky grin.

"Sure didn't..." Marshall replied, returning Humdinger's grin.

"Wait!" Mayor Goodway yelled. "Are we… Are we the only ones who know that you're alright, Marshall?!"

"Er, kinda." Marshall replied. "A few people saw me, but other than them, the only ones who really know are all here."

"We have to let the town know! We-We have to run another broadcast! Yes, that old broadcast is out of date! The town is in so much pain, we've got to-"

"Gladys!" Humdinger yelled, startling her into silence. "One thing at a time, OK? You're getting ahead of yourself."

"Oh, err… Yes, er, you're right, Herbert..." Mayor Goodway cleared her throat. "Would you like to come in? We can talk more about things inside."

"Yeah, sure!" Marshall replied. "Guys, do you-"

Marshall turned outside to cast his eyes over the crowd of people and pups outside of City Hall. Before he could ask his question though, he stopped cold upon noticing the empty space where Ryder used to be standing. Almost immediately, Marshall deflated, exhaling and flapping his lips.

"...woof."

Mayor Goodway quickly realised why Marshall had stopped. "Urgh, that boy… Why is he doing this?"

"Guys?"

Suddenly, Skye piped up from the crowd.

"Can I come with you? I mean, I've still gotta talk about stuff with Mayor Goodway..."

"Of course, Skye!" Mayor Goodway replied. "I was going to ask you, anyway. What about the rest of you?"

"Hey! Ryder's ATV is gone!" Tracker cried, looking off to the side.

"WHAT?!" The group yelled, with the exception of Chase.

"Tracker, it's OK, he couldn't have gone far." Chase replied. "Besides…" The shepherd narrowed his gaze into a determined glare. "...it's about time I stepped up again…" He turned back to Marshall and the two mayors. "Guys, we'll all look for Ryder. Marshall, call me when you're done?"

"Will do, Chase… good luck." Marshall replied.

"...thanks, pal..." Chase replied with some degree of worry.

As Skye came through the door, Mayor Goodway set Marshall back on the floor with a comforting pat to the head and closed the door behind her.

"Please, come with me, everyone." she said. "We've got a lot to talk about..."


	12. Party Planning

The walk through City Hall was fairly short, but conducted in absolute silence. All the better to hear the silence in City Hall. Every single impact of a foot or paw landing on the floor echoed for what seemed like miles. It was as if they were walking through a haunted house. More than a few uncomfortable glances were shared between Marshall and Skye as they shadowed the two Mayors going towards the office.

"Er, Mayor Goodway?" Marshall piped up.

Mayor Goodway jumped slightly at hearing Marshall's voice behind her. "Yes, Marshall?"

"I'm curious about something. Why's Mayor Humdinger with you?"

Mayor Humdinger chuckled slightly. "I suppose you would be a little confused about that. Tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together, don't you know?"

"You may be surprised, pups, but Herbert isn't a monster-"

"I'm a TROUBLEMAKER, thank you very much!" Humdinger spat.

Everyone present rolled their eyes.

"Well, yes, as I was saying..." Mayor Goodway continued. "...he came here to talk to me after he was done paying his respects. We go back a ways, after all. And he's been staying with me ever since."

"I know we have our differences, pups, but I would NEVER wish for something like that to happen to any of you. EVER." The tone of Mayor Humdinger's voice carried a surprising amount of sincerity. "I know how close you all are… Seeing you broken up like that… I wouldn't wish that on even my WORST enemies..."

"Like us?" Skye asked lightheartedly.

"Aren't you sharp?" Mayor Humdinger replied with similar levity, prompting chuckles from all four of the group.

"We can talk more inside, everyone." Mayor Goodway interjected. "Please, Marshall, Skye, make yourselves at home."

The double doors to the Mayor's office swung open to reveal a relatively compact room. At the head of it sat a desk with a plush-looking chair situated at it, along with three smaller chairs at its front for guests. Lining the walls were various photos and medals, along with tables decorated with trophies and questionable statues of an avian nature. In the corners of the room's back were a pair of plush sofas. But on the Mayor's desk lay a small, nest like structure occupied by a white chicken, who turned to look at the small group that had just entered the room.

"Oh, Chickaletta!" Mayor Goodway cried. "Look who's come to see us!"

As usual, the chicken's face remained as vacant as ever. But Chickaletta wasn't prone to making her feelings known by facial expressions or words. After a few seconds, Chickaletta hopped down from her next and strutted over to the speckled pup in their ranks.

"Long time, no see, huh, Chickaletta?" Marshall leaned down to nuzzle the chicken before she clambered onto the dalmatian's head, settling down on top of it.

"Aww! It looks like Chickaletta's happy to see you too, Marshall!" Mayor Goodway cooed.

"Well, Marshall is one soft pup." Skye observed.

Marshall could only laugh in response, before hopping up to one of the sofas and settling down on it. Skye swiftly followed him up, with Mayor Goodway sitting next to Marshall and her purse chicken, and Mayor Humdinger sitting down next to Skye.

"Oh, yes, Marshall..." Mayor Goodway began, producing something from her purse. "As you asked."

Marshall's eyes widened when he saw what was in Mayor Goodway's hand, before he burst out laughing.

"Oh, Mayor Goodway!" Marshall laughed. "You… You didn't have to!"

Mayor Goodway smiled. "I certainly didn't, did I? But there's one for Skye, here, too."

Skye cocked her head. "Marshall… What… exactly brought this on?"

"What?" Marshall replied. "Don't like treats, Skye?"

Skye smirked. "I never said that."

The two pups quickly scarfed down the treats the Mayor had given them. For some reason, they tasted even better than usual.

"So, Marshall…" Mayor Goodway continued. "I hope you aren't sick of telling your story. What happened while you were gone?"

"Oh, trust me, Mayor Goodway. I'm used to it by now." Marshall replied.

Marshall had lost count of how many times he'd told the same story to people. But he didn't let this slow him down as he once more detailed his three-day hike through the woods, as the Mayors listened on in horror and Skye rested her head on Marshall's back in a bid to comfort him as he recounted his loneliness and fear. It didn't seem to matter how many times he told the story. It never hurt any less.

"Why, you poor little thing..." Goodway whispered, cupping Marshall's cheek in her hand.

"You're one lucky pup, aren't you?" Humdinger asked. "Most people would be dead in your position..."

"Probably not..." Marshall replied sadly. "If I was REALLY lucky, that sort of thing wouldn't have happened… Thank goodness for Tracker..."

"We really owe him this time..." Skye remarked. "But it wasn't all him, you know? If you hadn't done your best… Well..."

Skye began to whimper and whine. Surprisingly, Humdinger was the one to reach out and pet her in a bid to try and calm her.

"Well… What matters is that you're safe now..." Goodway whispered. "I hope nothing like this ever has to happen again..."

"Absolutely..." Humdinger added. "It might surprise you to know that I was in mourning, too?"

"Actually..." Marshall turned towards Humdinger. "Chase did say something like that last night after I got back… He said you 'never wanted it to come to this'?"

"Sounds like he heard me." Humdinger replied. "I mean, when I got the news, it felt like nothing was ever going to be the same again..."

* * *

_For once, Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom were on the same page when it came to weather._

_Mayor Humdinger was no stranger to poor weather. Foggy Bottom was almost perpetually shrouded in clouds and fog, in stark contrast to Adventure Bay's near-perpetual sunshine. But now, the mayor noted, save for the fog, the weather of the two towns was nigh-indistinguishable. Fitting, considering that Adventure Bay had good reason to be miserable._

_As Humdinger rode through the town on his cat carrier, dressed top-to-toe in mourner's black with a large bouquet of purple flowers in storage, he felt like there was a void within him. Despite all of the differences he had with the Paw Patrol, he still had at least some respect for them. After all, even though he caused a lot of trouble, they weren't averse to saving him, too. They helped everyone and every creature, big or small. Every member was a good person, and deep down, Humdinger may have had the tiniest wish that he could be their friend._

_And now, he'd never get the chance with one of them._

_For as much respect as he had for the Paw Patrol, they were HIS enemy. The enemy for HIM to defeat and triumph over. And now one of them had been defeated. Permanently. And not through any action of his own. But a rescue gone wrong. And just like that, the team was permanently fractured. Humdinger knew that they were as close as a family, and seeing them turned against each other or torn apart was one of the saddest things he could think of. After all, they were all a group of children. The least he could do now was try and stand with Adventure Bay as best he could, and say his goodbyes to a worthy opponent properly._

_Somehow, the pit in Humdinger's stomach felt like it was getting deeper and deeper the closer he got to the Lookout. The atmosphere of despair and sadness was getting even stronger. Even when he parked the carrier outside, the heavy atmosphere was practically pushing him backwards. Slowly, he recovered the bouquet of flowers from the carrier and moved across the bridge._

_The very first thing that caught Humdinger's eye was the red Pup House surrounded by candles and flowers. As he got closer, a large portrait of Marshall came into view just outside said Pup House. Humdinger felt as if he'd just been punched in the stomach. He didn't even have to speak to anyone to know how the pups were feeling. They'd just lost what amounted to a family member, after all. He was wondering how long it'd be before someone caught sight of him. Once he'd finished crossing the bridge, he'd got his answer in the form of a cockapoo exiting the door to the tower and approaching him, looking none too pleased to see him._

" _Oh." Skye began coldly. "It's you."_

" _I know, I know..." Humdinger replied, admittedly wounded by Skye's icy tone. "Look. Skye. For once, I don't want any trouble."_

" _Psh." Skye scoffed. "Liar. You're probably here to gloat."_

" _Look at me. Do I LOOK like I'm here to gloat?"_

" _It wouldn't be the first time you've gone in disguise. Don't you have ANY shame?"_

_Humdinger felt even more wounded from Skye's words. But at the same time, he understood that Marshall's death had to have hit her hard. Though this did nothing to stem the bubbling emotions within him._

" _You probably can't see it, but all of us are in a bad way. The last thing we need is you stirring things up. If you REALLY don't want trouble, then just. Get. Out."_

" _...how dare you?!" Humdinger finally snapped. "Can't you see that I'M mourning, too?! Would I really have dressed up in black and come all this way with a bunch of flowers for the sake of gloating or scheming?! We might not get along all the time, but are you really going to turn me away from trying to pay my respects like everyone else?! Don't try and tell me that you think I'm a monster who'd dance on Marshall's grave! I'm a rival of yours, but I'd NEVER want ANY of you to break up or die or whatever! If that's what you thought, then all I can say is 'shame on you'!"_

_Skye's face quickly went from angry to shocked. None were more surprised than her that their longtime rival was capable of such an attitude._

" _...I'm… I'm sorry, Mayor Humdinger..." Skye whispered, hanging her head. "But… Like I said, we're all in a bad way… Losing Marshall… Its… destroyed us all..."_

_Humdinger sighed, kneeling and rubbing Skye's neck._

" _It's alright, Skye… I mean, you're all like family, aren't you? I can't even imagine how the others are taking this._

" _Well… Not great, let's just say that..."_

_It took a little bit longer for Skye to speak up again. Humdinger could only pet Skye further in a bid to try and cheer her up, even slightly._

" _So is it just you? No Harold? No kitties?" Skye asked._

" _No. Just me." Humdinger replied. "I didn't want the kitties to come with me for this one. And Harold, well…" Humdinger clenched his fist tightly. "The less said about him right now, the better." He slowly got to his feet and gestured towards the flower-filled Pup House. "Can I just leave my flowers here?"_

_Skye whimpered. "Y-Yeah… That's fine..."_

_Being shadowed by the miserable cockapoo, Humdinger slowly made his way over to the giant portrait of Marshall. He couldn't help but reflect on the whole thing seeming oddly fitting. Marshall was always a happy pup. He'd probably want to be remembered as that same happy pup. Facing down deathly situations with a smile. The broadcast of Hello Adventure Bay he'd picked up from his lair was understandably light on details, but Humdinger couldn't even imagine how Marshall could smile in the face of his imminent demise._

" _...I NEVER wanted it to come to this, you know." Humdinger said sombrely, kneeling down at the foot of Marshall's portrait. "Like I said, I'm not a monster. I can see how you pups all adore each other. I couldn't bear to see you pups broken up, or turned against each other, or whatever..."_

_Humdinger, using both hands, gently laid the large, purple bouquet at the foot of Marshall's portrait. He couldn't even bring himself to look up._

" _...Marshall didn't deserve this… It looks like the town all thinks the same way..."_

" _...I know..." Skye whimpered._

" _...It may not be much, but I just want you to know: Foggy Bottom is behind you the whole way through all of this… I don't know if any of you will want it, but we'll help out however we can..."_

_Skye sniffled. "Thanks, Mayor Humdinger… That means a lot..."_

_Mayor Humdinger suddenly stood upright and planted his fists on his hips._

" _Indeed! I will be Adventure Bay's hero in its time of need!" he crowed._

" _Ooh! You're so awesome, Mr. Humdinger!" Skye gushed._

* * *

"Wha?!" Marshall spluttered.

"Huh?! I never said that!" Skye added.

* * *

" _Why thank you, Skye! Dry those eyes! All is well with me around! Watch! I'll even change the weather for you!" Mayor Humdinger said confidently, the sun coming out from behind the clouds._

" _Woooow! Soooo cooool!" Skye swooned._

* * *

"Hey! You're totally making things up!" Skye shouted.

"That can't be right!" Marshall added.

* * *

" _When the Paw Patrol are away, Mayor Humdinger shall be a new hero! Have no fear, for I am here!_

" _We're not worthy!" Skye cried, bowing down to Humdinger._

* * *

"Oh, come on! Knock it off!"

Marshall had finally heard enough, and his yell had finally stopped Humdinger cold. Coming down from his delusions, Humdinger finally took notice of Mayor Goodway, Skye, Marshall, and surprisingly, even Chickaletta glaring daggers at him.

"What?!" Humdinger snapped defensively.

"Don't 'what' us, mister!" Skye retorted. "'We're not worthy'?! I would NEVER say that!"

"Now REALLY isn't the time to be talking yourself up, Herbert!" Goodway added.

"I was just trying to make it more interesting!" Humdinger replied defensively.

"By making stuff up?!" Marshall shot back.

"Bawk!" Chickaletta clucked in obvious annoyance from atop Marshall's head.

"Sorry, but Chickaletta seems to agree." Goodway said with a slightly smug undertone.

"Yeah, you've got the chicken against you, now. I think you've lost." Skye added bluntly.

"Well, excuse me for trying to tell a good story!" Humdinger huffed, folding his arms and pouting childishly.

"Guys, make him tell the story properly? Please?" Marshall asked.

"Well, until all that 'Humdinger is a hero' talk, I wouldn't change anything..." Skye replied. "...it was basically fine up until then."

"I thought as much." Mayor Goodway said.

"But still." Marshall continued. "Thanks for coming by, Mayor Humdinger… It really means a lot that you'd do that for us..."

Mayor Humdinger visibly flinched at Marshall's thanks. "Er, yes, er… Anytime, Marshall..." Humdinger stammered, caught off-guard and ceasing his pouting.

Skye decided to wait until Humdinger had unfolded his arms before speaking again. For as much as she was enjoying her chat with the mayors, Humdinger's self-aggrandising not withstanding, there was still something else that she had to discuss with Mayor Goodway.

"Err, Mayor Goodway? There's uh… Th-There's something I need to… to talk about..." Skye stammered, considering the pup next to her.

"It wouldn't happen to be about the funeral, would it?" Goodway replied.

Skye went rigid. "Wha-? How'd you know?"

Mayor Goodway giggled as Marshall watched on. "It's all we HAVE been talking about lately! And now that Marshall's come back, we need to consider what to do next now, hmm?"

Skye looked back at Marshall, who looked surprised.

"Marshall… I know this is a heavy subject but… do you, er..." Skye asked falteringly.

"No worries." Marshall interrupted. "Don't stop for me."

Skye sighed. "...thanks, Marshall..."

"Let's get down to business then, shall we?" Mayor Goodway asked. "I suppose the first big thing to ask is: Should we call the funeral off?"

"Well..." Skye began. "I'm really not sure. I mean, I wanna say yes, since we don't have to say goodbye to Marshall anymore… I mean, I REALLY wasn't looking forward to the funeral..."

"But we've done so much for it, already..." Goodway countered. "So many people are here for it, and we've put so much money into it..."

"I guess we could do something else on that day?"

"But what?"

"Maybe you could still hold the funeral?" Humdinger suggested, causing everyone to look his way. "Marshall doesn't really have to be dead, does he?"

"But then what?" Goodway replied. "We can't exactly say goodbye to someone who we know is alive."

There was a slight lull in the conversation.

"Wait..." Skye piped up. "Maybe… Maybe we don't have to? Maybe we can still have the funeral, but we don't have to say goodbye? I mean, it's not much of a funeral, but maybe instead of crying over what we lost, we can use it to be grateful for what we still have? We can use it to remember what we NEARLY lost?"

The two mayors exchanged a look with one another.

"...I like it!" Humdinger exclaimed. "That way, nothing would go to waste!"

"And we wouldn't have to change very much!" Goodway added. "And the statue! I can ask for a few modifications to be made to it! It should be easy!"

"Hold on!" Skye shouted, getting their attention again. "You realise this means Marshall would probably be attending his own funeral, right? I'm just a little worried he might find it… well, weird!"

The mayors both looked at Marshall, and then each other, before looking back at Skye.

"You have a point..." Goodway conceded.

"Why don't we ask him?" Humdinger suggested. "He IS the guest of honor, after all."

"Me?" Marshall asked.

Mayor Goodway looked right down and Marshall and placed a hand under the pup's chin and another hand on his back.

"Marshall…" Goodway began gently. "Please, don't feel like you have to say yes… I get that this would be weird, and probably very upsetting for you… But it's your funeral… er, literally. Whatever you want, we'll respect your wishes."

Marshall's brow twisted into a thoughtful glare, with his mouth curling into a scowl. Him later screwing his eyes shut confirmed that this wasn't an easy choice that had been given to him. He'd spent about a minute considering his options in absolute silence before opening his eyes again.

"...Let's do it."

"Huh?" Skye replied, slightly taken aback.

"It's what everyone's here for." Marshall continued. "Plus, it'll be a good way of putting this whole thing to bed. And it'll be good for me to think about what I nearly lost, too."

"If that's what you want..." Mayor Goodway said.

"You're a brave pup, Marshall..." Humdinger added.

Skye only leaned over and nuzzled the spotted pup in reassurance.

"I'll have to stay behind a while, then…" she whispered. "I'll have a few things to talk to her about."

"Well, with that out of the way, we'll have to move on to telling everyone about the change in plans, won't we?" Mayor Goodway asked.

"Aren't people talking a lot about Hello Adventure Bay?" Marshall asked. "Is that how everyone found out about what happened?"

Suddenly, a sombre silence fell over the room. It was as if the temperature had dropped by about 10 degrees. Clearly, it wasn't a comfortable subject.

"That's right, Marshall..." Humdinger replied. "Everyone got it… Even Foggy Bottom."

"Obviously, we couldn't get any of you to talk about what happened..." Mayor Goodway added sadly. "It was a short, but… It was… probably the hardest broadcast I've ever done..."

Marshall whined and shuffled closer to Mayor Goodway, nuzzling her leg.

"Oh, Mayor Goodway… I'm sorry..." Marshall whimpered.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, young pup..." she replied gently, stroking his back. "It's in the past now. And that's why we need to run another broadcast as soon as we can! I can get the camera crews together and we can come to the Lookout to show everyone that you're OK. Does that sound good?"

"Err, I dunno, Mayor Goodway..." Marshall stammered. "I-I'm not great with cameras… Or stages..."

"Relax, Marshall!" Skye said encouragingly. "We'll be right there with you! We can help you through that dumb old stage fright!"

Marshall couldn't help but beam widely at the cockapoo. Even after all that tragedy, he still had friends that would walk over hot coals for him. Just as he did for them by pushing through a life-threatening situation back to Adventure Bay.

"...Skye..." Marshall whispered to the pup. He turned back to Mayor Goodway. "I'm fired up!" he declared, grinning toothily.

"That's the spirit, Marshall!" Mayor Goodway praised. "We'll bring the camera crews by at 8PM. Sound good?"

"Totally!"

On that note, Marshall found himself pulled into a hug by the mayor, who kissed his forehead.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" she whispered to him in a surprisingly wavering tone of voice.

Marshall didn't reply. Instead, he simply nuzzled into the mayor's neck with Chickaletta still on his head as Skye moved in to join the pair of them, followed shortly after by Mayor Humdinger. With Marshall finally back with them, the warm joy emanating from the group could be easily felt.

Oddly, the upcoming "funeral" now had more to look forward to. Now it was a proper chance to make peace, rather than a bitter goodbye to a friend and brother taken too soon. None were more excited than Mayor Goodway, however. The prospect of telling the town the good news had her on cloud nine.

After their long, silent group hug had finally passed, Marshall had finally left City Hall, and was starting to make his way outside. Skye, as promised, had been left behind to talk with Mayor Goodway about the revised funeral. But Marshall had another promise that he had to fulfill as he tapped his Pup Tag.

"Marshall! Hey!" Chase's voice came through after a few seconds. "You all done?"

"Hi, Chase!" Marshall replied. "Yep, we're done. Skye's had to stay behind to talk about the funeral. She'll catch up later."

"Oh yeah… What's going on with that?"

"I'll tell you when I'm back home."

Suddenly, Marshall felt his stomach drop as he remembered what had happened before his talk with the mayors.

"Err… did you find Ryder?"

"Don't worry, we did. He just went back to the Lookout."

These words prompted Marshall to heave a massive sigh of relief. "How is he?"

It was Chase's turn to let off a massive sigh. "We don't know… He's just shut himself in his room again… Tracker can hear him breathing in there, but he's not responding to any of us..."

Marshall whined down the Pup Tag. It was now abundantly clear that Ryder was running away from them. Trying to avoid talking about the situation however he could.

"...But our bowls are stuffed full." Chase continued. "There are even a couple extra ones. I think he wants everyone to stay over. I already asked Jake and Carlos, and they've agreed. Katie's gonna stay for a little while, too."

Marshall wasn't at all surprised. Naturally, the Paw Patrol's circle was going to want to stay close after such a huge event. But the healing was going to take far longer for everyone involved. Ryder especially so.

"That's great..." Marshall whispered fondly. "Anyway, I'm gonna head back to the Lookout, now. Can someone give me a ride?"

"Rubble's waiting outside for you." Chase replied. "He was looking around the town earlier, and when we found Ryder, he offered to wait up." Chase's voice suddenly took on some extra levity. "I mean, we all know how you are with flying."

Marshall giggled as he approached the front door. "Thanks a lot, Chase… I'll be home soon."

"Hurry back, buddy..." Chase whispered before hanging up.

Sure enough, as Marshall pushed open the large door before him, he was greeted with the sight of a familiar yellow bulldozer at the end of the courtyard, helmed by a familiar bulldog. Not wanting to keep Rubble waiting, Marshall hurriedly raced towards him.

"Ayour carriage, sah." Rubble greeted Marshall with a exaggerated upper-class British accent which caused Marshall to freeze up and burst out laughing.

"Rubble!" Marshall choked through his laughter. "Y-You… You sound ridiculous!"

"Now wotEVAH could you mean boi that? This is simply how I tolk!"

"S-Stop it!" Marshall chuckled, squeezing in next to the bulldog.

"OK, OK, you win..." Rubble giggled as Marshall buckled up. "No playing pretend around you, huh?"

"Well not when it's that bad! You've got the worst pretend accent ever!" Marshall joked, this time causing Rubble to burst out laughing. The bulldog couldn't resist leaning over and wrapping Marshall in a warm hug.

"I missed you so much, Marshall..." Rubble whispered as Marshall reached over and hugged him back tightly.

"I missed you too, Rubble..." Marshall replied softly. "Let's go home, huh?"

Rubble separated from Marshall and beamed at him. "Rubble on the double!" he replied, starting up his bulldozer.

As the bulldozer pulled away from City Hall, Marshall couldn't help but see the parallels to last night. Once again, a friend was bringing him home. And once again, Marshall felt hugely content. But there was a difference. This time, he was aware of the divisions and continuing nightmares that he was going home to. But even as these thoughts persisted at the back of his mind, his contentment didn't ebb.

After all, he prided himself on helping to clean up messes.


	13. Grave Concerns

"But you're not dead!" Everest pointed out.

"But this is a good chance to put this all behind us, right?" Marshall countered.

"So we've still gotta go?" Zuma asked, sadly.

"If we don't, then all the prep we did would be for nothing, right?" Rocky replied.

"And a lot of people will have wasted a trip. Us included." Tracker added.

Ever since Marshall had got back and started filling everyone in on what was to become of his funeral, a debate had been raging among the pups as to whether it was a good idea or not. Naturally, this would have been the first funeral in most of the pups' lives, and a few were upset that their opportunity to miss it had been shut down.

"But…" Rubble squeaked. "We… really don't wanna… None of us wanted to go to a funeral..."

"No-one likes funerals, though." Chase replied. "But I think it's a great idea. We'll finally be able to put everything behind us, there, right?"

"We shouldn't have to, though!" Everest fired back. "Everything's fine! Marshall's fine! There's no reason that we should be doing this!"

"But think of all the wasted effort!" Rocky said. "Plus, we can all be grateful that Marshall's still here!"

"But we're alweady gwateful!" Zuma shouted. "How much more gwateful do you want us to be?!"

"Pups?" Katie interjected gently from the side. "Whose choice was it for the funeral to stay on? It was Marshall's, right?"

The pups all directed their gaze towards the dalmatian.

"Yeah, Mayor Goodway asked me if I wanted it to go ahead." he replied.

"There you go." Katie said. "This was Marshall's choice all along. The least you can all do now is stand by him."

"But Katie! It's gonna be so sad for no reason!" Rubble protested. "We shouldn't be saying goodbye to someone who's still with us!"

"Hey, chill, Rubble!" Jake reassured. "From the sounds of it, we won't be saying goodbye at all. We're just gonna be putting this whole thing to bed."

"It's already been put to bed, though..." Everest interjected. "With Marshall here, having the funeral's just gonna be pointlessly sad..."

"Think about it, Everest." Carlos countered. "You said it yourself, Marshall's gonna be there. And he'll be able to put this behind him, too."

"It was only three days ago that we all thought we'd be saying goodbye, remember." Tracker added. "Instead, we can be there for each other. Marshall included. And we can finally put the whole thing behind us. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound pointless to me."

Now that everyone had had the chance to speak their peace, the room had gone quiet. Marshall cast his eyes over the entire room to see everyone stealing glances at each other. Chase seemed to have his eyes glued firmly to the floor, his mind clearly elsewhere. The other pups, however, all looked less certain. Everest looked like she was far away, as did Zuma, whereas Rubble looked like he was on the verge of crying.

"OK..." Everest sighed after a minute. "I still REALLY don't wanna do this… But if it's for Marshall…" The husky looked at Marshall with a sad smile. "...I'll do my best..."

"Me too..." Rubble piped up. "I was really hoping that now that you're back, we wouldn't have to do this… But… I've been brave before… So I'll try to be brave again, Marshall… for you..."

Marshall couldn't hold back a joyful sniffle. "...thanks, guys..."

The attention in the room soon turned to Zuma, who still looked like he had no idea where to put himself.

"Guys..." Zuma whimpered. "Do… do I… have to?"

"Zuma, if you really don't want to, I won't mind." Marshall replied gently. "But if you do come, then you're not gonna be alone… You'll have everyone there with you. Including me."

There was another long pause. It was plain to see that Zuma wanted no part of it. But eventually, Zuma walked over to Marshall.

"I… I'll twy, Mawshall… B-But… I'm… I'm pwobably gonna cwy, too… You know that, wight?"

Marshall chuckled softly. "I think we all are, Zuma… And thank you… You doing your best is all I ask..."

Zuma walked up close to Marshall and nuzzled him, to which Marshall responded by wrapping an arm around the labrador. Everyone smiled at the sight.

"There's one more thing, guys." Marshall said. "Mayor Goodway's gonna bring a camera crew around at 8PM."

"A camera crew?" Chase parroted.

"Yeah. They're gonna shoot Hello Adventure Bay again. They're gonna show everyone I'm OK!"

"What did I tell you?" Everest replied. "I said that she'd be able to tell the whole town that you're alive, right? Beats giving a "Hey, Marshall's Alive!" Parade, huh?"

"But I love parades..." Marshall pouted jokingly, to laughter from the rest of the group.

"You think they'll wanna talk to any of us?" Rocky asked.

"I'm not sure what they're gonna do, actually." Marshall replied. "We'll just have to see when they get here."

"I just hope they don't wanna talk to Ryder..."

When Rubble finished his sentence, the room immediately fell quiet. The reminder of how their owner seemed to be trying his hardest to avoid them hit them all heavily. It was made worse by the fact that none of them had a clue as to why. Ever since the accident, Ryder had completely shut himself off, and the only one who seemed to be able to get even remotely close to him was Marshall. This reminder had worried them all into silence.

"Actually, I don't even know if he'll come to the funewal at this wate..." Zuma whimpered.

From the other end of the room, Jake sighed. "We'll just call Ryder a work-in-progress, huh, dudes? He needs time."

"But he can't keep running away from us, Jake!" Katie countered. "I mean, you saw how sick he got while we weren't there for him, right?!"

"So, what, we just kick the door down and drag him to the funeral?" Carlos suggested sarcastically.

Marshall was too drawn into the argument that had begun around him to notice that a certain german shepherd had walked up to him.

"Psst. Marshall."

"WHA-?!" Marshall yelped, before realising Chase was standing right next to him. "Urgh, Chase, don't sneak up on me like that!" he hissed.

"What part of what I just did was 'sneaking'?!" Chase hissed back incredulously. "Anyway..."

Chase jerked his head towards the door and mouthed something to Marshall. Even though the dalmatian didn't understand what Chase had just mouthed, he knew full well what he wanted to talk about. Slowly pulling away from the circle, the two pups made themselves scarce, stepping outside of the Lookout and moving towards the rear end of the island.

The two were able to quickly formulate a plan from their brief disappearance, which left them free to go back to their own devices. Chase simply laid in his Pup House to mentally prepare himself for his inevitable apology, while Marshall quickly found himself sidetracked by his own Pup House. It was practically hypnotic in the worst way. Marshall was simply incapable of looking away from it. To the extent that he barely noticed how time had flown by and that another pup had joined him after a long while.

"...it's really something, huh?"

"BWAGH-!!" Marshall practically jumped out of his skin, eliciting the same reaction in the second pup. "For crying out loud, Skye! How long have you been sitting there?!"

"I scared YOU?! How'd you not notice me for five minutes?!" Skye retorted, trying to get her rapidly-beating heart back under control.

"Well, sorry, but it's not every day you get to look at your own grave!"

The pups stared at each other while practically hyperventilating for a few more seconds before their breathing got back under control.

"Whew..." Skye panted. "Sorry about that… I'm OK now..."

"Yeah… no problem… I'm sorry, too… and… same..." Marshall wheezed.

The two pups focused their attention back on Marshall's Pup House, and the haunting sight quickly sucked the time away once more for the pair of them. They still couldn't get over the sheer volume of flowers and candles packed into it. Both desperately tried to avert their eyes from the giant, black-framed Marshall portrait smiling down at them, and neither of them particularly wanted to read the condolence cards that had been set up at the bottom of the portrait. And Marshall wasn't entirely sure that he was going to sleep with the teddy amongst the cards ever again after associating it with this.

"How… How many people came by here?" Marshall asked slowly, still not looking away from what amounted to his tomb.

Skye didn't reply for a few seconds. "...I gotta be honest. I stopped counting after ten."

"At least ten?" Marshall asked. "(Did… everyone really miss me? That much?)" The dalmatian looked at some of the flowers, laying his eyes on a large, purple bouquet at the entrance, walking up to it and gently pushing it to one side with his nose.

"This Humdinger's?"

"Yeah."

"It's… huge. Do that many flowers grow in Foggy Bottom?"

"I don't think so..."

With the bouquet out of the way, Marshall now had access to the cards laid around the portrait.

"Who left these?"

"Dunno. I lost track. I know Mr. Porter and Alex left one."

Marshall moved towards another before recoiling.

"Urghk-!" Marshall retched. "Smells like fish!"

Skye giggled slightly. "That'll be the Turbots' card..."

Marshall grumbled at the horrible smell before looking at something out of the ordinary.

"Hey, what's this? It looks like a full-blown letter."

Taking the folded paper in his mouth, Marshall turned around and laid it on the ground next to Skye. Moving back, the pups got a good look at the strong, clear handwriting on the paper, taking note of the stamp on it.

"'With deepest… con-doll-enn-kess'?" Marshall struggled to read the final word on the envelope. "The heck does that mean?"

"Jeez..." Skye said softly. "That's a five-dollar word… What kinda kid's gonna know what that means? Actually some guy in a really fancy uniform dropped this off. It's gotta be important."

"Who coulda wrote this?" Marshall asked, before casting his eyes to the stamp in the corner of the envelope.

"Hey!" Marshall suddenly had an epiphany. "Isn't this the crest of Barkingburg?!"

Skye squinted at the stamp before her pink eyes shot open. "Hey! I think you're right!"

"What did it say?"

"I dunno! I didn't wanna read that! Who wants to read a letter about their dead frie… pup?!"

Marshall froze, realising that he was getting too far ahead of himself.

"Oh… I-I'm sorry, I totally forgot..." Marshall said sadly.

Skye took a deep breath. "No… No harm done… But now I'm really curious."

"If you don't wanna read it, that's fine."

"No, now I wanna." Skye replied, turning the paper over to reveal the wax seal, identical to the stamp on the letter. "I mean, my friend… the pup's not dead anymore, right?"

Marshall elected to ignore Skye's abrupt correction of herself as she used one of her tiny claws to split the seal down the middle, letting the paper unfold to reveal consise, clear handwriting that took up the entire page. The pups fell silent as they scanned their eyes over the paper.

"-with heavy hearts-"  
"-deepest sympathies-"  
"-will be missed terribly-"  
"-stands by you all in this dark time-"  
"-Adventure Bay's suffering-"  
"-cannot claim to know-"

"It's weird." Skye finally spoke up. "I can't read some of the words in this letter, but I know exactly what it's trying to say."

"I didn't think Barkingburg would go this far..." Marshall added, looking down at the bottom of the page, where another stamp lay, along with a cluster of signatures. "Did… the whole family sign this thing?"

Skye looked down at the bottom. "Must have. Hey, there's a pawprint here, too."

Marshall focused on the black pawprint that had caught the cockapoo's eye. "Is this… Sweetie's?"

"How many other pups are in Barkingburg? But don't get too excited. They probably made her sign this..."

"Wonder how she felt upon getting the news..."

Skye suddenly began to growl. "Over the moon, I bet..." she snarled angrily. "She'd better not show up in a few days..."

"Skye, it's OK! Don't think about it too hard." Marshall frantically attempted to reassure the cockapoo. "If she tries something, everyone will know about it. Don't worry."

"I hope you're right..." Skye growled, attempting to take some breaths to calm herself down.

The pups kept staring at the letter for a couple more minutes before a voice called out to them.

"Hey! Skye! You're back!"

The pups turned to the source of the voice approaching them. "Hey, Katie!" Skye greeted.

"What are you guys looking at?" Katie asked.

"It's from Barkingburg!" Marshall replied. "Take a look!"

Katie kneeled down to scan over the letter with the two pups. Looking at her face, the pups could tell that she was having some difficulty understanding it, too.

"Yep." Katie said flatly after a few seconds. "That's Barkingburg."

"Right?" Skye replied. "What makes them think a bunch of kids are gonna know what all this means?"

"Well, it's a nice letter, either way." Marshall countered. "So what'cha up to, Katie?"

"I was about to get going, actually." Katie replied. "Cali's still back at the Pet Parlor, after all. I was just coming by to see if you needed help with anything."

"Well..." Marshall began, looking over at his Pup House. "...could I ask you a big favor, Katie?"

"Anything, Marshall."

Katie ended up staying for several minutes longer than she had intended helping the pups clear up Marshall's Pup House. In truth, the pups were happy to be rid of it. But none moreso than Marshall himself, who'd made his discomfort with the memorial quite clear. Katie offered to take the flowers back with her in a wagon Rocky had in his truck to decorate her Parlor, with Chase even putting a pawprint on a written agreement just to make sure. Due process had to be respected, even in the strangest of cases. Soon, the only things left were Marshall's portrait and Barkingburg's condolence letter. Katie was surprised that Marshall had asked for his teddy to be taken away, but understood when he explained that he wouldn't be able to look at it without thinking of his memorial anymore.

"Bye, pups!" Katie called, as she set out over the bridge. "See you later!"

The entire group, minus a certain brown-haired boy, stood at the bridge to wave Katie goodbye as she returned to the Pet Parlor to take care of Cali. Each pup, as well as Jake and Carlos, shouted their goodbyes to Katie as she vanished out of sight.

"So what are we gonna do with that big pictuwe?" Zuma asked. "It's… cweepy..."

Attention soon turned back to the memorial photo of Marshall. "I was gonna ask the Mayor if she wanted to use it for the funeral." Rocky replied. "Otherwise… well, that's something I won't mind losing, and NOT re-using."

"Normally I'd say 'whoa', but it's a little hard to argue with that." Jake said. "It's like, well, what that picture MEANS, y'know?"

"Not much use for it in the jungle, either." Carlos added.

"And we are NOT hanging this thing up in the Lookout." Rubble said emphatically.

The only bright thing about the photo was the cream backdrop and Marshall himself. Everything else about it screamed sombre despair. And since the photo was taken for an exhibit on the Paw Patrol at the Adventure Bay Museum, despair was absolutely not the intention. But now they wouldn't be able to visit the exhibit without thinking about the tragedy that nearly was.

While the group had fallen into contemplative silence, there was one pup who's mind was elsewhere. Chase was wondering whether he should wait for a little longer to spring his apology on the pups, but then, he already had a perfect opportunity ahead of him, and he'd already hurt everyone with his refusal to be there in their time of need. Deciding that he wasn't going to do that again, Chase took a deep breath in.

"Everyone..." Chase began, perhaps a little louder than he had intended. "I've got something I wanna say."

Marshall was slightly taken aback as Chase spoke up and walked out to the front of the group.

"(I hope that pup knows what he's doing...)"

First impressions weren't exactly favourable, however, since once Chase had turned to face the group, his face became one of uncertainty and fear. His short, laboured breathing was very audible to the group. Marshall knew it well. Chase was undergoing stage fright. But perhaps a more extreme version, considering the circumstances. Chase had become completely rigid, and his amber eyes darted back and forth across the concerned-looking group.

But as Chase locked eyes with Marshall, the dalmatian sat down and raised his paws to his chest, simultaneously taking a slow, deep breath in through his nose, making sure that every one of his actions was plainly visible. He paused for a second, before steadily breathing out through his mouth and extending his paws towards Chase with a reassuring smile, nonverbally instructing him to take a deep breath.

Despite his fear still showing on his face, Chase followed Marshall's instruction, and took a long, steady breath in, before slowly breathing out. The shepherd was surprised at how much this actually helped his mind slow down a little, feeding it the oxygen it sorely needed and allowing him to lock on to where he wanted to start his speech.

"Pups… Jake… Carlos… I've not been a good pup, lately..." Chase began. "Actually, I've been a coward..."

Chase stopped when he realised that Marshall was frantically shaking his head and slicing a paw across his neck. Suddenly, Chase remembered Marshall's instructions not to go overboard with insulting himself.

"…I shouldn't have been keeping secrets… Or been shutting myself off… Guys… I… I thought I'd totally burnt bridges with you all earlier… I know… I was hurt, too… But that doesn't mean I should've kept Marshall to myself last night. And I know you were worried about me… And yet, all I did was shut myself in my Pup House… It's bad enough that Ryder's cutting himself off, too… the last thing you all need is me doing the same thing…

The pups were listening intently to Chase's long speech. Even Marshall, who had helped him rehearse. It was somewhat amazing that Chase was keeping it all together.

"And Skye."

Skye jumped at the mention of her name.

"...I've been the worst to you. I mean, I heard you outside my Pup House. I could tell you had so much going on… I should've been there to help you! I mean, you've always been there for us, but when it was my turn, I totally chickened out!"

Skye stared at Chase in awe, as he stopped to take another breath to collect himself.

"I don't think I've ever felt as bad as I have in the last few days… I mean, losing Marshall… my brother… my best friend… It destroyed me… I thought the dentist scared me, but… I sometimes get nightmares about losing you guys…" Chase sniffled briefly. "...and I didn't realise how much more that scared me… until it actually came true..."

Everyone gave Chase a sympathetic look as he forced back his tears.

"...but that doesn't mean I should've hidden like that. All I did was worry you all… and hurt myself. I'm the Paw Patrol's second-in-command… But for the last few days, I really haven't acted like it. So..."

Chase stopped to take a few more deep breaths.

"So… To sum it up: I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry, Rocky. I knew how worried you were getting about me. And I should've at least tried to let you in. I'm sorry Rubble and Zuma. You guys both really needed someone to cry with, and all I did was listen to you two suffer. I'm sorry, Everest and Tracker. You both needed someone to talk to, and... all I did was run away. And..."

Chase gulped loudly before speaking again.

"...most of all… I'm sorry, Skye. You were counting on me… You were trying to be there for me… And I threw you off and screamed at you… You needed someone to cry with the most… And I just left you to it… I don't know if any of you will be able to forgive me… But if we can start over… I can be a better pup to you all."

Everyone was completely silent for a few seconds, staring at Chase with a mixture of bewilderment and sympathy. This had been the most open the pup had been with them for days, and no-one knew what to make of it. With the exception of Marshall, who, still sat on the floor, eventually started to clap, only to stop with a nervous giggle when he noticed everyone staring at him.

"Chase..." Rocky began, after turning back to him. "...that was probably the silliest thing I've heard from you. You don't have to apologise to me. Heck, you don't have to apologise to anyone! I mean, yeah, it hurt a little when you said that you'd kept Marshall from us last night for a while, but heck, if Marshall spoke to me first, I would've done the same thing!" Rocky walked up to Chase and gently licked his cheek. "The fact that you came out to talk to us… to say all that… that all means way more than you might think… As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to forgive."

Chase sniffled with joy. "...thanks, Rocky..."

"Wocky's wight!" Zuma added. "I know if I was the fiwst one to find Mawshall, thewe's no way I'd shawe him wight away!" Zuma walked up and nuzzled the shepherd. "We all knew how sad you were… We know how close you are to Mawshall… We know how you feel, dude… Don't be so hawd on youwself..."

Chase quickly leaned in to nuzzle Zuma back. Marshall watched on, smiling at how well things were going. But the smile swiftly got wiped from his face when Rubble was the next to walk up to Chase, only to bop him on the nose with one of his paws.

"Oww!" Chase yelled, falling on his behind and grabbing his nose with his paws.

"Rubble!" Rocky shouted. "What was THAT for?!"

"Just getting even." Rubble replied. "Maybe you're right, Chase. Maybe you shouldn't have hid like that. You SHOULD have been with us. But that's because we were all so worried and sad… I mean, it was bad enough that Marshall was dead, but you and Ryder disappearing on us only made things so much worse than they were… But you know something? I'm really happy you apologised. 'Cause that means things can finally start getting better… We don't have to worry about our big brother anymore… Along with how sad we were over Marshall dying." Rubble's face suddenly turned more serious than usual. "But if you feel that way again, then PLEASE don't shut yourself off again? For us? Promise?"

Chase responded by getting to his feet and giving Rubble a huge face lick.

"Promise." he replied.

A few seconds passed before Everest and Tracker walked forward, with Jake and Carlos at their backs.

"Ay, Chase, you silly pup..." Tracker began with a playful edge to his words. "How could I expect you to talk to me when you were there to see Marshall fall into that river? You can't REALLY think I hold that against you? I mean, that was a nice speech, don't get me wrong, but you're acting like I hate you! You were hurt, too! Maybe worse than any of us, here!

"He's right, Chase." Carlos added. "We don't have to forgive you. We understand completely why you did what you did."

"Tracker… Carlos..." Chase whispered, still trying to choke back tears.

"It's not like I can really complain, you know?" Everest began sadly. "Because I know exactly how you feel. I mean…" Everest looked down at the floor as Jake laid a hand on her head. "I shut down too when I got the news… It felt like nothing I ever did would be worth it again… So you don't have to apologise to me… Apology accepted, by the way… Really, I feel more like I should be apologising to you."

"Ha ha, OK, Ev..." Jake chuckled softly. "It sounds like you're all good, Chase, dude. Everyone here knows how you were feeling… Just don't shut yourself off again… Everyone here would wanna help you like you help them, y'know?" Jake suddenly leaned down closer to Everest's ear. "And that goes for you too, little lady. Clear?"

Chase smiled. "Totally, Jake..."

Everest turned and gave Jake a sad smile. "Sure is..."

Chase was really struggling to suppress his tears now. He had to remember to try and return Marshall's kindness at some point. After all, if not for his help, Chase probably wouldn't have had the guts to apologise the way he did. But here he was, safe in the knowledge that nobody held his withdrawal against him.

Well, almost nobody.

Everyone's attention soon turned to the one pup who had yet to say anything, who was standing rooted to the ground, eyes firmly locked on the ground. Skye was looking incredibly guilty. Chase's heart sank when he remembered how angry Skye had gotten with him.

"Skye?" Marshall finally spoke up. "Don't you have something you wanna say to Chase?"

Skye remained quiet.

"Come on, Skye!" Rocky interjected. "Chase just poured his heart out! Are you just gonna say nothing?!"

"...I..." Skye whispered. "I… I don't deserve his apology..."

Everyone went rigid. "...Skye, what the heck are you talking about?!" Zuma spluttered.

"...you know 'what'." Skye replied quietly, getting up and walking away.

"Skye! Come back!" Rubble shouted after her.

"Hey! Skye! Don't be like that!" Everest yelled.

"Come on, Skye!" Tracker called.

But Skye didn't react at all. She just kept on walking with her gaze locked firmly on the ground. Chase began to whimper, realising that his long apology had more or less no effect on her.

"Guys..." Chase whined. "Wh-Why… Am I… that horrible?"

"NO! Absolutely not!" Rocky shouted. "I don't know why Skye's acting like this! First she yells at you, and then-!"

"ROCKY!" Marshall shouted, snapping the mixed breed out of his rant. "...not the time."

Marshall walked up to Chase and wrapped his arms around him.

"Sorry, Chase..." Marshall whispered. "...Looks like Skye's gonna take a little more work..."

"No..." Chase replied, returning Marshall's hug. "We talked about that… We knew that Skye wasn't get over things that easy."

"Hey, dudes?" Jake piped up. "Is it just me, or did she look really sad?"

"Almost like she was really guilty or something." Carlos added.

"See, Chase?" Marshall whispered reassuringly. "She'll come around."

Chase tightened his hold on the dalmatian. "Maybe… Maybe..."

Chase punctuated his sentence with a slight sniffle of contentment. For as much as he thought that he'd burned bridges with the other pups, they were quick to reassure him that he was blowing things out of proportion. Now all but one pup had solidly reaffirmed that they were standing with him.

And even that one pup had just proven that mending their ties was far from impossible.


	14. Extra

7:30PM.

Half an hour until Mayor Goodway's arrival and the time of the broadcast. Since Chase's apology, the pups had been trying to find ways to amuse themselves. But no matter what they tried, they simply couldn't muster up the will to keep going. Rubble kept starting on digging holes, only to give up before even being able to put his paws halfway in. Rocky kept trying to concentrate on inventing, but his mind clouded over before he could commit to anything. Skye stayed in her Pup House, continuing to swim in her own guilt. Tracker, for his part, never left Chase's side, keeping watch over the pup at all times. Jake and Carlos hadn't stopped talking about Ryder, except perhaps to talk about how their pups were doing. And Everest was currently trying to calm the nerves of a very anxious dalmatian inside his Pup House.

"Aw, c'mon, Marshall, there's nothing to be scared of!" Everest said, concerned that Marshall might make a trench in the floor if he kept pacing in circles.

"There's everything to be scared of!" Marshall babbled in a camera-shy frenzy. "Wh-What if I do something silly?! What if one of us breaks down?! What if the equipment catches fire?! What if we have an earthquake?!"

Everest couldn't stop herself from snorting at how ridiculous some of Marshall's theories were. "What are the odds of that happening, though?"

"I dunno! But anything could happen, right?"

Everest groaned. "Marshall, you know I love you. You're like the little brother I never had. But even you've gotta know how silly you sound right now. If there was an earthquake on the way, we'd know about it. You always do silly stuff, and no-one thinks any less of you for it. I'm sure you could put the equipment out if it caught fire. And as for the whole thing about breaking down..." Everest paused for a second. "Well, OK, that might happen… But we'll all be here to help each other out, you know?"

As Everest finished her sentence, Marshall was still looking jittery, but he had at least stopped pacing. He seemed to stop to think about what Everest had just said for a few minutes, before sighing.

"I hate stage fright..." Marshall moaned.

"But we haven't even started yet!" Everest replied.

"I dunno… I guess I'm more… edgy than usual?"

"Oh..." Everest suddenly realised that Marshall's nerves probably weren't in the greatest of condition at the moment, considering the last few days that he'd had. Everest walked up to Marshall and licked his cheek a few times.

"Well, how about this? Mayor Goodway knows how bad things are. I'm sure she'll take it slow. And we can stay right next to you the whole time. Besides, it's not like you're gonna have to answer everything yourself. The cameras aren't just gonna be on you."

Slowly, Marshall turned to look at Everest.

"I guess? ...Maybe?"

Everest bumped her nose against Marshall's. "Don't be afraid. It'll all work out. You'll be fine. We're not gonna leave you alone up there. Not this time." she whispered.

After a brief pause, Marshall moved to nuzzle the husky.

"OK..." Marshall whispered back. "Do my best, forget the rest… I'll be counting on you guys."

Everest smiled widely. "Ice or snow: I'm ready to go!"

Everest spent the next few minutes discussing what might happen in the broadcast with Marshall, including, at his behest and to his eternal relief, earthquake drills. From rehearsing answers to learning how to stay calm with a camera in his face, Everest did her best to not leave stones unturned. Marshall may have been more panicky than usual, but the pain of losing him for three days made Everest determined to do everything she could make him happy. Everest soon took a look at the time in Marshall's Pup House, noticing that it now read 7:53PM.

"Oop! Mayor Goodway should be here in a few minutes." Everest realised.

"Wha-?!" Marshall yelped. "But we've only been practicing for five minutes!"

Everest giggled. "Time flies, huh? I'll go get the other pups."

Marshall swallowed hard. "Oh, jeez, oh, jeez, oh, jeez, it's almost here, it's almost here-" Marshall paused to slap himself across the face. "BREATHE, darn it!!"

Marshall didn't really breathe as much as he did suck in air without much regard for what to do with it before exhaling it back out, ironically making him feel even more panicked and his heart beat even more rapidly. Internally, the dalmatian cursed how on-edge he was, to the point that he was so wrapped up in cursing himself that he jumped at the feeling of Everest's paw on his shoulder. And as if by magic, his heart slowed back down to a steady rhythm, his breathing now far more stable.

"Shh..." Everest whispered reassuringly. "You're fine… There's nothing to be scared of… Look, if you go to the bridge, I'll send the other pups round. We'll all wait together."

Silently, Marshall waited for Everest to take her paw away.

"OK..." Marshall squeaked, still feeling nervous. He slowly moved out of his Pup House and towards the bridge.

Marshal kept his gaze fixed firmly forward. Unfortunately, that accursed funeral portrait of him continued to smile down at him from the floor next to him after it had been moved away from his Pup House. He prayed that Mayor Goodway would want to take it away. The constant reminders of his near-fatal accident were doing nothing to assuage his nerves. Though he wasn't so rigidly focused on the bridge that he didn't notice a set of paws getting closer to him. The familiar scent gave away who it was, and Marshall was unsurprised when he felt something warm at his side.

"You doing OK, buddy?" Chase asked.

Marshall sighed heavily. "I dunno, Chase… I feel way more… well, jumpy than usual."

"I'm not surprised… I mean, after…" Chase whimpered a little before answering. "...surviving THAT… I don't think anyone would really be calm afterwards..."

"And the stage fright… I'm gonna be on TV, I'm gonna give an interview to heck-knows-how-many people… I. CAN'T. DEAL."

Marshall was surprised to feel Chase moving his head around to meet his gaze. "Yes you can. Because you've got us, this time. We're not gonna be as useless as we were three days ago."

"Huh?!" Marshall spluttered. "Useless?! I-I never said anything about you guys being useless! Where the heck did you get that?!"

"Don't act like you don't know!" Chase shot back. "We couldn't save you! How are we anything BUT useless when we can't save someone when it matters most!"

"But there was nothing you could do! I said it looked like that was the end because we straight up didn't have any way of getting me out of there! You saw how fragile that ledge was! And that river's current was way too fast! Even Zuma couldn't swim through that!"

"That's why we're useless! We're supposed to be ready for anything! And that was something we weren't ready for!"

"Even if you were ready for it, that ledge crumbled way too quickly! You couldn't save me, but there wasn't any time to! That doesn't make you useless!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"HEY!!"

The two pups froze from the loud shout that came from the side made by a pair of voices. They both turned to see Rocky and Tracker looking at them with angry expressions.

"What the heck are you two doing?!" Rocky demanded. "We leave you alone for a few seconds and you start arguing?!"

"We're all tense here, but what makes you think that a shouting match will make things better?!" Tracker added angrily.

The shepherd and dalmatian quickly felt their ears droop, along with their heads. Both parties let out a sad whine as they realised what they were doing.

"G-Guys… W-We're..." Marshall began.

"We're sorry..." Chase joined in, finishing Marshall's sentence at the same time.

"I… I-I was just..." Marshall stammered.

"Yeah, we know. We heard everything." Tracker interrupted.

"I didn't need Tracker's ears to hear you two yelling at each other a mile away." Rocky added sternly.

"B-But you guys AREN'T useless… At all..." Marshall whispered. "I don't hate you at all… I don't hold anything against you..."

Rocky sighed, before turning to a more gentle expression. "We know, Marshall… But we all still feel guilty… Like we could've done something..."

"But none of you could..."

"Doesn't matter, amigo..." Tracker chimed in. "We were totally powerless, and yet we still feel responsible for letting you die..."

"Whether we could do something or not doesn't matter." Chase said. "Losing you was the worst day of my life… Everyone else's too… We're not gonna let go of that easily, you know?"

"And the fact we got you back…" Rocky continued. "Well, I'd say that's proof miracles exist..."

Marshall whimpered. "Guys… come here?"

The pups didn't see fit to deny Marshall's request. All three of them moved in and sat down in front of Marshall, allowing him to put his paws around them all, as they all did the same thing for each other.

"You're right, Rocky… It was a miracle that I lived through that… Maybe we all need time to get over this… Do you… do you think we'll ever be happy again?"

Rocky sighed heavily. "I don't know, Marshall… I-I really don't know what to say..."

"I'd say 'maybe'..." Tracker whispered. "There's no changing the fact the accident happened, after all… I think we're all gonna be thinking about it for a long time..."

"If we're gonna get over this, it's gonna take a lot of work..." Chase conceded. "I don't think anything will change how useless we all felt that we couldn't save you… But maybe if we're there for each other, we can all move on? And make sure we're ready if that ever happens again?"

"Then… Let's all do our best… right?" Marshall asked quietly.

"Yeah…" Rocky agreed.

"Si..." Tracker added

"Right." Chase concluded. "Do our best, forget the rest."

Marshall grinned widely. "That's the spirit..."

It didn't take long for the other pups to arrive. Naturally, they were concerned when they noticed the four-way embrace being shared by the pups already at the bridge, but Chase was able to slightly allay their concerns, saying that they got into a little spat, but everything was fine. The shepherd was careful to avoid going into detail, though. The last thing they needed was more arguments. But it didn't take long after the arrival of Rubble, the last pup, for a pair of cars to pull up to the bridge. Two men stepped out of the car at the back, and out of the front car stepped Mayor Goodway herself, who walked over the bridge while the two men buzzed around their car, retrieving a camera and a boom mic.

"Hello, pups!" Mayor Goodway called, with Chickaletta in her purse at her side.

"Hi, Mayor Goodway!" The pups shouted in unison.

"I hope you're all ready..." Mayor Goodway reached towards her purse, only to find her purse chicken holding a small microphone in her beak. "Oh! Why thank you, my little chicky-wicky!" she cooed. "Because we go live in five minutes!"

"I… think?" Marshall replied uncertainly.

Mayor Goodway looked at him. "Uh-oh. A little nervous, are we?"

Marshall's eyes widened. "Huh?! H-How did you know?"

"It's written all over your face!" Mayor Goodway chuckled, before kneeling down in front of Marshall. "There's nothing to be scared of, pup. We'll go slowly, so don't feel under pressure to speak if you don't want to. Besides, everyone else is here, too. We're not going to keep the spotlight on you the whole way through."

"Good..." Marshall sighed. "I don't think I could take it..."

"Don't worry. We completely understand." Goodway replied. "But I'm sure the other pups will help you out, won't they?" Mayor Goodway cast her eyes over the pups.

"Duh!" Skye immediately replied.

"We've talked about this, you know?" Everest added. "We'll help Marshall through this."

"See?" Mayor Goodway turned back to Marshall. "You'll be fine."

In the time it had taken for Mayor Goodway to talk to Marshall, the two crew members had been flitting around the group, busily setting up the camera and boom mic. They also moved Marshall's funeral portrait to Mayor Goodway's car, after she had mercifully agreed to take the reminder of their misery off their paws. With the fact that the sun was starting to dip below the Adventure Bay horizon, the sky had turned a fine shade of orange. At present, the lighting couldn't be better. Marshall looked around at the smiling faces of the pups around him, along with the crew busying themselves with their equipment.

"We're live in 30 seconds, Mayor Goodway!" the cameraman called.

"Here we go, Marshall, pups!" Goodway said excitedly, clearing her throat, muttering some rehearsed lines to herself.

"Well…" Marshall said, looking around at the other pups. "Here goes..."

A few seconds later the cameraman spoke again. "We're on in 3… 2… 1..."

With the light on the camera turning red, Mayor Goodway turned towards it, microphone in hand, and began to speak.

"Good evening, Adventure Bay." she began. "Mayor Goodway here with an unbelievable announcement. Three days ago, it was announced here that Marshall, the fire pup of the Paw Patrol, had tragically died on a rescue that had also involved police pup Chase and group leader Ryder. But today, a stunning new development has occurred." Mayor Goodway could barely keep the elated smile off of her face. "Earlier today, it was discovered that Marshall had miraculously survived his ordeal, and is now safely back in Adventure Bay."

At this point, Mayor Goodway stepped aside to reveal the group of smiling pups. And among them was the same dalmatian that had been declared dead before that same camera three days ago. Marshall's smile, however, was noticeably a little more strained.

"Exactly how Marshall returned from a lethal accident is something that nobody is sure of..." Goodway continued. "...but Marshall and the pups have allowed us a quick interview. Marshall, thank you so much for your time today."

Marshall flinched slightly as Mayor Goodway extended the microphone to him. "I-It's nothing, Mayor Goodway. Th-Thanks for, er, h-having me."

Mayor Goodway laughed slightly. "Oh, Marshall, after you came back, it's the least we could do! Now, why don't we start off with what happened?"

"Er, yeah, sure..."

"Hey, Marshall?" Chase cut in. "Want me to help out with this part?"

"Er, th-that'd be great, Chase… Th-Thanks..."

With Chase at Marshall's side, the pups explained Marshall's story into the camera. They tried to keep it brief, with Marshall throwing in some thanks to Tracker for good measure, causing the chihuahua to give an embarrassed grin.

"...it's still hard to believe that Marshall even came back, to be honest..." Chase concluded.

"I should say so!" Mayor Goodway replied. "But then, Marshall has always been a hardy pup, no?"

"No… Er- yeah, yeah!" Marshall stammered. "I don't even know how I managed to survive all that… Being smashed into rocks and being washed so far away that it takes me three days to walk back… Heck, even Zuma couldn't swim through that. I'm a pretty unlucky pup, but I always do say to do my best and forget the rest."

Mayor Goodway smiled again. "Marshall, you are one amazing pup. Even when things get rough, you never give up. Anyway, next question: What do you think you might do now that you're back?"

Marshall glanced back at Everest, who smiled and gestured with her paw.

"W-Well..." Marshall began. "I guess I'm gonna take some time out… I mean, I wanna get back to rescuing at some point, but… Right now, all I wanna do is rest… And spend time with the other pups."

"That makes sense." Goodway replied. "After all, losing you basically put the whole town in mourning…" She reached out and rubbed Marshall's head soothingly. "But we're all so glad to have you back… And speaking of mourning, do you all plan on coming to the funeral in a week?"

"We, er… do…" Marshall stammered.

"Er, excuse me?" Skye piped up from the back, stepping forward. "I'd like to say something, if that's OK?"

"Of course, Skye." Goodway replied, moving the microphone over to the cockapoo. "Go ahead?"

"As the Paw Patrol, we've agreed that we will come to the funeral. Some of us would like to speak there, too. But right now, we don't know if Ryder's gonna be coming or not."

"Wait, how did you know we were all going?" Marshall asked.

"Oh, Everest told me." Skye turned back to the camera. "Anyway, we know the town's gonna be really happy to have Marshall back. Just like we were. But right now, we're in kind of a delicate spot. If everyone in Adventure Bay could please give us some space, that'd be great. We've gotta try and get ourselves together, so please, let us have some time to ourselves for a while?"

Skye stepped back from the microphone, which Mayor Goodway took back to herself, looking back at the camera and standing her full height.

"And there you have it." she stated. "The Paw Patrol are requesting that the citizens of Adventure Bay, Foggy Bottom and any other towns and cities give them some space to recover. This has been an emotionally-harrowing few days for everyone involved, and before next week's funeral, they're all going to need time to get better. As for the funeral itself..."

Mayor Goodway started to give out details of the funeral for next week. Even though the pups knew that it was still on despite Marshall still being alive, they continued to listen intently as Mayor Goodway gave details of the time, date and schedule of the funeral.

"Thank you all for tuning in on this historic day. And let this go to show: Miracles DO exist. This is Mayor Goodway: signing off."

"And cut!" The cameraman declared.

With these words, Mayor Goodway visibly relaxed, handing her microphone back to Chickaletta.

"See, Marshall? That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked gently.

"Heh, I admit, I do feel a little silly after that..." Marshall admitted.

"Not a single earthquake, either!" Everest joked.

"Earthquake?!" Mayor Goodway scoffed. "Ugh, you silly pup!"

Once more, she playfully rubbed the giggling pup's head.

"So, with the word out, I think it's about high time I let you pups rest." Goodway went on. "And just in time, too, with the sun nearly down."

Indeed, the sun had almost finished its journey below the horizon, with the sky turning a dark shade of dusky pink.

"I'll head back to City Hall. Hopefully Herbert won't have changed the locks by the time I get there..."

"Hope not! I'm not really in the mood to arrest anyone!" Chase joked.

Mayor Goodway laughed. "Well, see you later, pups!"

"Bye, Mayor Goodway!" the pups called as the Mayor walked back to her car, only to stop partway there.

"Oh, and pups?" she said. "I know it's not going to be easy. But please, when you can, take care of Ryder… That boy's clearly not in a good way… Sooner or later, he's going to have to face his problems… Even when it hurts worse than anything."

Leaving the pups stunned into silence, the Mayor and her filming crew got into their cars and departed back into Adventure Bay. The pups listened until the sound of engines dwindled into the distance.

"But how are we gonna get Wyder to face his pwoblems…?" Zuma asked quietly.

"He won't even face us right now!" Rubble added.

"Look guys, that's gonna have to come later." Chase interjected. "It's not gonna be easy, so let's just sleep on it for now. We'll figure something out."

"But what about dinner?" Rubble asked.

"Well, after dinner, I mean." Chase realised. "And I haven't eaten anything since this morning, either. Let's all go get some food and go right to bed, OK?"

The chorus of responses were unanimously in agreement.

"Oh, yes, PLEASE..."

"Totally..."

"Dreamland, here I come..."

"I'm gonna sleep for weeks..."

The pups were all too eager to get some food after not eating since the morning. The day had been nothing short of hectic, with emotional reunions packing their schedules, along with seeing more of Ryder than they had in days. The contents of their bowls, including the spare ones for Tracker and Everest, had vanished very quickly. The pups had even managed to keep pace with Rubble and Everest, who were both known for being big eaters.

Sadly, things hadn't gone as well for Jake and Carlos. Both of them had attempted to get through to Ryder for several hours, but he still refused to come out of his room. They reported that the only thing they'd succeeded in getting out of Ryder was that he'd needed his own bed tonight. Realising that this was a fight they weren't going to win for the time being, the pups conceded, and Jake and Carlos had gotten some food of their own before retiring to the tents that they had outside.

The pups had finally finished their food before Marshall decided to ask a question. A question that had been bugging him since the early hours of the day. A question that had to do with Rocky's angry reaction towards a certain part of his own story.

"Guys? Can I ask something?" Marshall asked.

"What's up?" Skye replied.

Marshall took a deep breath. "Earlier today, Rocky said that the thought of someone taking my place made him sick… I'm curious: Do you guys think the same?"

It wasn't long before Marshall realised that maybe he hadn't asked the best question as he felt several sets of eyes burning into him with appalled looks.

"WHAT?!!" Skye shrieked. "Marshall, how could even think that WOULDN'T make us sick?!! We- we can't just REPLACE you!!"

"B-But..." Marshall stammered, now a little afraid. "Rocky… reacted so badly to that thought-"

"And I stand by it!" Rocky spat indignantly. "There's only one fire pup for THIS team, and he's standing right in front of us!"

"Why do you even feel like you needed to ask that?!" Rubble added. "Is this because we gave up on you out there?!"

"Wh- no, I-!"

"Are you trying to say that we think you shouldn't have come back or something?!" Tracker demanded. "Don't tell me you think that we don't like you or something!"

"N-No, Tracker! I-I was just curious! Rocky got really mad at the thought of me being replaced-"

"We ALL got mad at the thought of weplacing you!" Zuma spat. "Stop making us think about it! Please!"

"B-But-!"

"NO!!" Everest yelled. "Marshall, we don't wanna hear any more! Please! Drop it!"

"O-OK! OK!" Marshall shouted, obviously frightened. "I-I'm sorry!"

Suddenly, the pups began to feel guilty, noticing how they had scared Marshall. He may have asked an uncomfortable question, but they realised that their reactions were probably too forceful. The only one who hadn't replied was Chase, who moved over to Marshall, casting a disapproving look over the rest of the pups.

"Marshall…" Chase began gently. "I know we all got a little fired up there… But it's all true… The thought of a Paw Patrol without you is just… WRONG. Let's say you didn't come back and that we DID replace you."

"Chase-!" Rocky shouted.

Chase whipped around to the mixed breed. "Just hear me out!" he shouted, before turning back to Marshall. "Like I said, let's say the worst happened and we replaced you. So we'd have this new pup: Cool. Collected. Controlled. Really good fire pup right off the bat. Nicest pup you could hope to meet, too. Really friendly. But it doesn't matter who that pup is or what they could do. There's something that they don't have..."

Chase walked up to Marshall, sat down, and pulled him into a hug of desperation. "...your Marshall-ness. And that, as far as we all think, makes them a way worse fire pup than you on your worst days. They could be the nicest pup in the world, but I don't think we'd ever get along with them..."

Suddenly, Chase's voice grew more shaky. "I mean, every time we looked at that pup, every time they went on a rescue, every time they even talked, we'd just be reminded of the one pup we couldn't save. Our best friend- no, our brother… Our brother who died on a rescue… The one pup we failed when that pup needed us the most… We shouldn't be talking to your replacement! That pup shouldn't even be in your place at all! It wouldn't matter how hard we tried! That pup would just be a walking, talking reminder of our failure! They'd never be able to fill your spot! We could all do our best to love that pup like we would you, but it just wouldn't be the same! I know it's unfair, but we'd only end up hating that pup because HE'S! NOT! YOU!"

It was plain to see that Chase had broken down into uncontrollable sobbing at the reality that he was nearly forced to endure with everyone else. It got to the point where everyone else was crying at least slightly at Chase's passionate speech at how important Marshall was to them. Even Marshall found himself crying, and quickly hugged Chase back, with the pair nuzzling each other as they continued to cry for a few minutes.

"S-Sorry..." Chase whimpered. "G-Got a little too much into it there..."

"No worries…" Marshall replied with a sniffle. "I mean, you pretty much answered my question..."

"Chase basically hit the nail on the head..." Rocky chimed in shakily. "We can't replace you… ever… you… mean too much to us to replace..."

"There's a whole bunch of pups out there who could do your job." Chase whispered. "But none of them are you..."

Marshall didn't reply. He only hugged Chase even tighter, sobbing in quiet gratitude. The pups had already made it crystal clear how much he meant to them, but they had all just affirmed it further: Marshall was part of a family who loved him. And that family had been broken by his loss. But now he was back, and he could work to fix it.

"You feeling alright, pal?" Chase asked quietly, having recovered his voice after five minutes.

"I am now…" Marshall replied fondly.

"You think you're ready for bed?"

"Oh yeah..." Marshall sighed tiredly. "I guess I'd better head to my Pup House-"

"Oh no you don't." Chase interrupted. "There's NO WAY we're sleeping in our Pup Houses tonight. Our own beds are the last thing we need right now, right guys?"

"Right!" The pups all barked back in unison.

Marshall was a little confused. "But… If we're not sleeping in our Pup Houses, then-"

"Where will we sleep?" Chase finished Marshall's question. "Easy." Chase finally separated from Marshall with a fond smile. "Rocky? Can you go fetch the pillows from the closet?"

"You got it, Chase!" Rocky replied, trotting off to the closet where their pet beds were kept.

"Pups? Can you give him a hand? Just take them all?" Chase added.

"On it!" they responded, following Rocky to the closet.

"THAT brings back memories..." Marshall whispered, closing his eyes.

"They sure do..." Chase added, doing the same. Still kinda feels like yesterday we were throwing those at each other... We… almost lost being able to have good times like that, you know..."

"I know..." Marshall replied sadly. "But let's try not to think about that now. Besides, I made it back OK, right?"

"Yeah..."

Soon, the six other pups returned, each one carrying two pillows in their mouth.

"Be ghoph whaph yoo aphkep phow, Chkache." Everest said around the pillows in her mouth.

"Great!" Chase replied. "Just pile 'em up in the middle of the floor, there?"

The pups set about putting all of their pillows in a massive cushiony puddle on the floor.

"How's this, jefe?" Tracker asked.

"Err… Tracker, er… what's a... 'heff eh'?" Chase stammered.

Tracker rolled his eyes in amusement. "It means 'boss', Chase…" he replied with an amused grin.

"OH!" Chase shouted. "Yeah, that's great, Tracker! Thanks, guys!" Chase then turned to Marshall.

"Go on. Get comfy." he instructed gently.

"Err, OK..." Marshall replied tentatively.

Slowly, Marshall approached the middle of the sea of pillows. He wasn't aware that they were planning a sleepover for him, but in hindsight, he thought, he really should have seen that coming. He found a decent spot in the middle of the pile, turned in place a few times, and then settled down on top of the plush surface, surprised at how good it felt. Maybe it was magnified by how tired he was?

"How's that? Good?" Chase asked.

"Yeah… It feels really good, actually..." Marshall replied.

"Great… Now..." Chase smiled warmly. "Eyes closed. And no peeking."

Marshall did as he was told, slowly closing his eyes tightly. Now he was really curious. Especially when he happened to hear several sets of paws padding up to him. But then he felt something warm snuggling into his side. And then something else warm pressing down across his body. And then he felt something warm snuggling into his other side. Then he felt his head being pushed up from the floor by something soft. And with a click, he heard the lights of the building being turned off, along with more activity before everything went quiet.

"OK." Chase whispered. "You can open them now."

Marshall wasted no time in opening his eyes. What he saw was startling, but by no means unwelcome. Below his head he felt the soft, fuzzy texture of Rocky's fur, as he saw that the mixed breed was serving as his pillow for the night. To his right, he saw Chase snuggled tightly into his side. To his left was Skye, doing the same. And around him he saw Zuma, Rubble and Tracker all piled around him. The only pup missing was Everest, and the glimpse of lavender fur out of the corner of his from behind him indicated that the husky was currently keeping him warm by settling down to sleep on top of him.

"Oh…" Marshall whispered.

"How's that for a sleepover?" Chase whispered fondly into Marshall's ear. "You're not sleeping alone tonight…"

Marshall felt his eyes moisten again. "Y-You guys..." he replied waveringly, feeling like he was about to cry with joy. "Y-You guys are… t-too good to me..."

"Psh…" Rocky scoffed quietly. "This is the least we could do after nearly losing you..."

"I think what he means to say is..." Skye whispered into Marshall's other ear. "Welcome. Home."

"You're all… You're all the best..." Marshall whimpered happily.

Being surrounded by all the warm fur and kindness of his pack quickly sapped Marshall's energy, and the pup soon fell asleep, still feeling deliriously happy and completely safe. Not only at finally being home, but being surrounded by his family's love and warmth. And shortly after, one by one, the remaining pups quickly fell into a deep, blissful slumber along with Marshall. And every single pup felt the same way as their newly-returned brother. Deliriously happy and completely safe, with all of their pain and sadness quickly pushed aside.


	15. Rebuilding

The day had begun cloudy and overcast. The clouds weren't particularly dark, so rain at least seemed somewhat unlikely. But there wasn't as much light as there could have been, which would normally make it harder to wake up than on a sunnier day. But Marshall found himself stirred from his blissful slumber by some strange noises. He still remembered that the other pups were all sleeping around him, and the feeling of tranquility was keeping him from moving very much. But he was still able to open his eyes to see the elevator moving out of the corner of his eye. The spotted pup very gently turned his head in time to notice the elevator ascending away with a certain young boy serving as its passenger, Pup Pad in hand.

But the sight was far from ordinary. Ryder took a very brief look at Marshall, but it was long enough for the dalmatian to notice the boy's face; an image that'd be burned into the pup's memory for a long time to come. Red, deeply-bloodshot eyes surrounded by dark rings. Cheeks streaked with tears. A slouched, exhausted posture. Marshall remained where he was, but any attempt of his to go back to sleep was ultimately futile. The image of his owner in such a state had rendered him officially incapable of relaxing mentally.

Marshall had a long time to think about matters, but he simply couldn't take his mind off of the image of his owner in such an obviously-broken state. He understood why Ryder was the way he was, but Ryder had always been known as a happy, steadfast child. Always keeping a cool head when people needed him. Seeing him as a broken shell of himself was a serious shot to the heart for Marshall. A sentiment that would likely be shared by any of the others, he thought. But when he thought about the others, as if on cue, he started to feel movement around him. The first movement he felt came from the fuzzy, grey pup that had served as his pillow the previous night, who emitted some soft, breathy moans as he slowly roused himself.

"Rocky. Hey. You up?" Marshall whispered as quietly as he could.

"Gmmrrrgghh… Morning, Marshall..." Rocky groaned.

"Did you sleep OK?"

"Yeah, actually. How about you?"

"Yeah, I slept great. You make a good pillow, you know?"

Rocky snickered. "What can I say? I aim to please."

The two pups waited before speaking again, checking to see if any of the others had woken up at all. Aside from a brief snuffle from Rubble, however, no-one else moved or made so much as a sound.

"So, uh..." Rocky whispered. "Any plans for today?"

Marshall paused for a second. "Huh. Not really sure, actually."

"I think we all wanna spend time with you today."

"Yeah, and I wanna spend time with YOU. I just don't know what to do."

"I'm sure we'll think of something, Marshall… Hey, actually, wanna help me with an invention?"

Marshall perked up, and barely kept himself from shouting in the process. "That sounds great, Rocky!"

"Glad you think so. Since I tore it apart last time..."

Both pups paused sadly in mid-sentence before speaking again.

"Well, there's nothing to worry about this time, right?" Marshall asked quietly.

Rocky smiled to himself. "Absolutely nothing." he whispered fondly.

"What's nothing?"

The pups jumped a little at the female voice behind them.

"Everest?" Marshall whispered. "When did you get up?"

"Just now." Everest whispered back. "How did you sleep?"

"With this big blanket over me?" Marshall said lightheartedly. "Like a baby."

Everest giggled softly to herself. "Well I slept great too with such a warm, soft and fuzzy pillow!"

Marshall soon started laughing himself. "Admit it, you just wanted to use me as a pillow last night, didn't you?"

While Marshall couldn't see the look of surprise on Everest's face, which quickly morphed into a shifty expression with the husky's icy-blue eyes darting back and forth, the several seconds-long silence from her told all.

"...maybe."

It wasn't long after that that the pups had all gotten up to much reluctance. Of course, Marshall and Everest being unable to stop themselves from laughing had served as an impromptu alarm clock. Though some of the pups grumbled and groaned at being woken up, they could think of worse sounds to wake up to. Chase nearly having a heart attack at seeing that they'd all slept until noon was also a good indicator that they should probably get up.

Jake and Carlos had come to the Lookout in order to get lunch, and it was there that Marshall finally saw fit to tell everyone about the state that Ryder was in. Naturally, no-one took it well. Jake and Carlos told the pups that they would keep trying to get through, but the hopeless tone in their voices didn't go unnoticed. Even as the pups discussed trying to get through to him themselves, Skye had noticeably made herself scarce. Outside, Marshall had put on a brave face, outwardly remaining hopeful that Ryder would eventually go back to his old self. But inside, his hope was sinking like a boulder in the ocean.

Though the dalmatian didn't have much time to think on this as he joined the pups for a very late breakfast. It wasn't exactly a lively affair, with a few muted conversations here and there. Usually, the pups would be happily scarfing down their food and talking about what they were going to be getting up to. But here, there was still an odd heaviness to the atmosphere. Clearly, the trauma of Marshall's accident was still weighing heavily on their minds, though Everest was still kind enough to invite Marshall and Tracker to go on a walk with her later. Clearly, the husky was still yearning for companionship after her mental coma. And the two pups weren't about to decline.

After breakfast, Marshall and Rocky both stepped out to the Lookout grounds after the mixed breed retrieved his Pup Pack and gear, moving towards Rocky's truck, with Marshall's own truck looking untouched. The two pups froze, unable to help staring at it for a while.

"It's… like nothing ever happened..." Rocky whispered emptily.

"No kidding..." Marshall quietly replied. "Probably doesn't beat looking at your own grave in terms of freakiness, though."

"Well, no… But… you were as good as dead for three days and now… well..."

"Hey." Marshall laid a paw on Rocky's shoulder. "Let's not think too hard about that, huh? We've got work to do, right?"

Rocky paused for a second. "...yeah, you're right, Marshall… Let's focus on the catapult for now."

"The one you were building while I was gone, right?"

The pups had begun moving on to Rocky's truck. "The same." Rocky replied. "I mean, I had a good idea, but then I… well, I smashed it to pieces..."

Marshall whined, remembering why Rocky smashed it to pieces in the first place.

"...but I'm not gonna do that this time." Rocky continued, now beginning to smile. "Something tells me that this time is gonna be special."

"You know?" It didn't take long for Rocky's smile to spread to Marshall. "I think you're right."

It wasn't long before Rocky had pulled out a pile of wood from his truck. It looked to be primarily fallen branches and unused planks with some rope and wooden cogs to go with it.

"So what was your plan, Rocky?" Marshall asked. "Why another catapult?"

"Things can always been improved on, Marshall." Rocky replied. "Plus, the one I've got is starting to wear out. I wanted to make one that packed more of a punch. You know, throw stuff further."

"That makes sense, but how're you gonna do it with just a bunch of wood and rope?"

"That's why I've got the old catapult!" Rocky pulled said catapult from his truck, as if to emphasise his point. "I'm gonna look it over, see what I could do better. Wanna look, too?"

"Sure!"

Stepping past the pile of wooden scraps, the pups started to scrutinise every detail about the catapult, peering at it as if it were a puzzle waiting to be solved. Rocky mumbled to himself as he carefully looked over every detail of the contraption.

"Hmm, the arm's a little big…" Marshall piped up. "What did you plan to throw with this?"

"Well, mostly a tennis ball or two. Maybe sticks and frisbees, too?" Rocky replied.

"Wouldn't it be better if the arm was lighter, though? Means the ball or whatever will fly a little further?"

"You're right. The whole thing's kinda bulky, actually. If I can find something to make it lighter and fix it to the floor, it'd be great."

"'Fix it to the floor'?"

"Well, if it's too light, it'll just fly away when I pull the lever. But I don't want the arm to wobble when I pull the lever, either..."

Marshall walked backwards and squinted at the catapult.

"...maybe some heavy wheels?" Marshall opined. "That'd probably stop it from flying away."

Rocky paused and furrowed his brow, thinking about Marshall's idea.

"...that could work." Rocky replied. "And I could maybe stop it from wobbling if I make the arm thick enough… Now where did I leave those wheels?"

Rocky hopped back into his truck and started digging through it.

"Umm… Nah, that's not it… Whoa- how long have I had this? Hmm… Nah, that's no good… Whoa, what's- Wait… is this-?! Oh you did NOT! Oh, ho, ho, ho, Rubble! You! Are! BAD!"

Marshall gritted his teeth and swallowed heavily. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that!" he shouted nauseatedly.

"Ah-HA!" Rocky cried. "These will do!"

Two well-made, if slightly pre-used, wheels came flying from the back of the truck, landing next to the speckled pup waiting for him. The wheels were soon followed by Rocky himself.

"Why trash it when you can stash it?"

"Well careful where you throw those things, Rocky, 'cuz you nearly trashed ME!" Marshall retorted with a playful tone.

Suddenly, Rocky's eyes shot open in an expression of horror, accompanied by a loud gasp. "R-Really-?! O-Oh my gosh, I'm SO sorry, Marshall! I-I didn't mean to-! I w-wasn't looking where I was throwing! I could've really hurt you-!"

"Whoa, Rocky!" Marshall cried in shock. "I was only joking! I didn't mean anything by that! I wasn't gonna get THAT badly hurt if those hit me! You know that!"

Rocky froze, still staring at Marshall with an expression of horror, but now completely silent. Soon, he began to breathe, slowly drawing in air and expelling it back out.

"I..." Rocky began, before exhaling once more. "...no, you're right. Sorry, Marshall. Let's not talk about that, huh?"

"Er… sure?" Marshall stuttered uncertainly, still caught off-guard by Rocky's fit of terror at the prospect of him getting hurt.

"Anyway..." Rocky sighed, trying to steer things back on track. "Let's get these to the grass. Let's take the wood first, it'll be easier. Now be extra careful not to damage these any more, OK?"

"Gotcha..."

Trying to push aside what had just happened for the time being, Marshall joined Rocky in moving the wood and rope from his truck to an open patch of grass, so that Rocky could get to work on it. But when it came time to move the wheels, things got more complicated. While the pups had decided to roll the wheels along the floor, they were surprisingly hard to keep upright.

"Wh-whoa-!" Rocky cried, trying to keep his wheel upright. "C'mon, nearly there-!"

"Oh, please don't fall over, please don't fall over..." Marshall mumbled, seeing the wheel about to tip to the side.

"Uh-oh!" he cried, leaping atop the wheel in a bid to stabilise it, only to find that his added pup weight was causing the wheel to roll forward uncontrollably.

"Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa-!" Marshall hollered. "HEADS UP, ROCKY!"

Rocky whipped around, only to gasp loudly and get an identical expression of horror to before. "MARSHALL, NOOOOOOOO!!"

What Rocky did next shocked Marshall more than expected. Rocky took a flying leap at the dalmatian and tackled him off of the wheel, curling around him protectively as they both hit the floor hard with a resounding thud.

"Agh-!" Marshall winced.

"It's OK, Marshall, it's OK, you're safe, that wheel won't hurt you, everything's fine..." Rocky whispered, the pair watching as Marshall's wheel bumped into Rocky's and fell sideways, finally coming to a halt.

"Rocky, what are you talking about?" Marshall groaned. "I do that kinda thing all the time! You didn't have to jump at me!"

"But you could've been hurt!" Rocky shot back.

"Rocky, you really don't have to do this! Haven't you said before that that's just me?"

"Well, excuse me! Last time this kinda thing happened it nearly KILLED YOU! I'm only trying to look out for you!"

Any possible retort that Marshall could have had was immediately destroyed when Rocky finished his sentence. Now it was crystal clear how far the pup's fear over his wellbeing went. Marshall was so lost in the company of his friend and brother that he'd never once considered how worked up the others might be after finally having him back, terrified of the possibility of losing him again by any means. Marshall's shock was plainly visible in his eyes. Shock which Rocky had clearly picked up on as his eyes moistened with guilt over his harsh words.

"M-Marshall… I… I didn't mean to… I-I'm… so sorry..." Rocky whimpered.

"N-No, Rocky..." Marshall replied. "I… Well, I didn't even think of that..."

"I didn't mean to be so jumpy… But… I guess I'm still scared of losing you..."

"No, I get it… I should've been more careful..."

Rocky gave a hefty sigh, before holding onto Marshall tightly.

"If you're more careful, I'll be less jumpy… I think."

"Hey, worth a shot." Marshall replied as he let Rocky hug him. "Can't make any promises, though… I mean, after all..."

Rocky stiffened as he realised where the conversation was going.

"Don't say it-!"

"...that's how I roll!"

Rocky couldn't hold in his laughter. Even after a heavy moment, Marshall was still joking around as ever. But the extra layer of gratitude he had at being able to hear his dear friend's jokes again seemed to make him laugh harder than he had intended.

"(Worse problems to have...)" Rocky thought to himself.

Afterwards, Marshall set about helping Rocky with the legwork of putting together the new catapult. Already having a framework with the old catapult certainly helped, allowing Rocky to drill holes and cut timber along Marshall's markings that he'd made with the red highlighter pen that Rocky kept with him. But unfortunately, the heavy pushing required to build the catapult still remained from last time, as was evidenced by Rocky and Marshall pushing two parts of the catapult together with all of their might.

"C'mon… Marshall… puuuush…!" Rocky strained.

"I'm… pushing…! I'm… UGH-!" Marshall grunted loudly as the two pieces of wood finally snapped into place.

"Phew… got it..." Marshall wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

"Thanks a lot... Marshall!" Rocky gasped, rolling the frame back upright with a satisfied expression. "I think I... would've thrown my back out if… if I tried this by myself!"

"You know that… if you pull something… doing this… I'm not gonna… let you hear… hear the end of it, right?"

"I know, I know..."

Rocky and Marshall spent a few seconds catching their breath, before the grey-furred pup looked up at the half-built catapult frame, furrowing his brow at a piece of frame jutting out from the rest.

"Hrm..." Rocky mumbled. "Kinda too long… Arf, arf! Saw!"

Marshall watched as the saw extended forth from Rocky's Pup Pack, and the mixed breed moved into position to cut off the excess.

"Careful with that, Rocky!" Marshall cautioned.

"Not a problem!" Rocky replied.

"Hey, guys!"

"How's it going, amigos?"

Marshall turned around to the source of the voices behind him to see a husky and a chihuahua standing behind him, wearing their respective hats and eyeing Rocky's newest creation.

"Oh, Everest! Tracker!" Marshall replied.

"Hi, guys!" Rocky called, not looking up from his work.

"New catapult, huh?" Everest asked.

"Looks menor. A little smaller." Tracker observed.

"That's the idea!" Marshall said. "So what brings you guys here?"

"We were about to get going on our walk." Everest replied. "You ready?"

Marshall frowned. "Oh, er, already? I-I don't know if Rocky still needs me..."

"Hey, don't stop for me." Rocky shouted from over the saw moving back and forth through the wood. "I think I'm in a good place, now. Go ahead, enjoy your walk!"

Marshall was about to thank Rocky, until he noticed that the saw had nearly chewed through the excess wood of the catapult, and that the heavy, vertical plank of wood was in prime position to come down on the pup's paws.

"ROCKY, WATCH YOUR PAWS!!" Marshall yelled, as the beam began to tip towards Rocky.

"Wha-?!" Rocky shouted with a jolt, before seeing the wood falling towards him.

With a loud shriek, the mixed breed fell backwards onto his rump and dragged his front paws closer to him, the long plank just barely avoiding his toes as it flopped to the ground, leaving Rocky panting and staring down at the fallen plank with wide eyes.

"Whoa..." Rocky whispered. "Too close…"

"Careful!" Marshall scolded Rocky gently. "That could've caused a sprain!"

"You're right… Just like last time… Actually, why did I stand the catapult back up?!" Rocky brought his paw to his forehead in exasperation.

"If I had to patch you up for that, I would've mummified your sorry butt, mister!"

"What else is new?"

Marshall scoffed playfully. "Just watch yourself, OK?"

"Only if you do the same thing."

Everest and Tracker certainly appreciated the dramatic show that they were given, as they walked away from the Lookout with Marshall in tow. The pair had decided on going for a walk on the beach; not territory that either pup saw every day. Though oddly enough, Marshall insisted that they stay as far away from the sea as possible. As much as the two pups were slightly bewildered by Marshall's unusual apprehension, they decided to go with it, walking along the soft sands of a beach near to the Lookout, walking three abreast, making an effort to stay as far from the ocean as they could manage.

"Weather could've been a little better…" Tracker admitted. "Kinda cloudy for a walk on the beach..."

"But it's not every day we get to take a walk like this!" Everest countered. "Nice and quiet, too. Right, Marshall?"

"Huh?" Marshall replied, seemingly being jolted out of his thoughts. "U-Uh, yeah… Quiet..."

Everest and Tracker shared a worried look.

"Marshall… ¿Estas bien? Are you OK?" Tracker asked. "You've been miles away since we left."

"Is this about the beach?" Everest added. "Or something else?"

Marshall sighed heavily. "No pulling the wool over your eyes, huh? I guess you got me. It's a little of everything, actually. I mean, I ddn't think I'd still be so… jumpy around..." He swallowed heavily. "...water..."

"Water?" Everest parroted. "Why would you be jumpy around water?"

"Espera, Everest..." Tracker whispered, with widening eyes. "I just realised… We just brought Marshall to the beach… a few days after he nearly drowned..."

Everest went completely rigid in response, her face flushed with guilt.

"Oh… Oh, man, Marshall… I… I didn't even think of that..."

"It… It's fine..." Marshall replied. "… ...the beach is still too pretty to pass up… I-I thought I'd be OK if we stayed away from the sea at least… Besides, that's not all I'm thinking of… I mean, Chase and Skye still won't talk to each other, I think we're all gonnna have nightmares over this for weeks… and Ryder..."

All it took was the mention of the boy's name to instantly lower the mood among the pups. While they had barely seen any of Ryder, their owners' combined efforts to get through to him ending in failure, combined with what little they had seen of him being utterly haunting, simply hearing his name served as a good reminder of how dire things were in the Lookout.

"...I mean, he's already starved himself over what's been going on… And everyone's been saying that he just yelled at them and pushed them away..."

"But we've been trying to get close to him, amigo..." Tracker said sadly. "...we can't help him if he doesn't let us in."

"That's the problem!" Marshall replied sharply. "Everyone who's tried to get close to him hasn't even gotten a reply out of him! Doesn't he see that we NEED to talk to him?! We really need him! And all he's doing is making things worse for himself! I even saw him when I woke up today, and he was a total mess!"

Everest walked up to Marshall and placed a paw on his back. "...Who do you think really needs who right now?"

The worked-up dalmatian deflated quickly after Everest asked her question. "I know..." he whined. "I'm so worried about him… Why won't he let us in?"

"I'm sure he's got his reasons." Tracker replied. "He's a lot like your dad. Like Carlos is to me. How do you think watching you die made him feel?"

"Jake and Carlos are trying their best, Marshall." Everest added. "We can't force Ryder to feel better. All we can do is give it time."

"...But it's tough..." Marshall whimpered.

Nobody could deny that. Having to wait for Ryder to show any improvement at all was an agonising process. They'd already seen just how bad he'd gotten in three days after seeing one of his pups plunge to their doom, and they were all as terrified as he was at the prospect of it happening again.

"Well, hey." Tracker cut in. "No point moping about it, huh? We came to enjoy the beach, didn't we?"

"Tracker's right. Didn't we come here for a nice walk?" Everest added.

"...yeah… I guess you're right." Marshall said. "Let's go, huh?"

The pups were quick to agree, and set off down the beach again. The waves were generally calm, and the wind was gentle, if noticeable. The scent of the ocean wafted through the three pups. The only thing that was remotely questionable was the darkened sky, adorned with grey clouds.

"The air feels muy increíble..." Tracker whispered. "We should come here more often..."

"I know, right?" Everest replied, smiling. "It all feels so fresh!"

Marshall opened his mouth to add to the conversation, until his Pup Tag suddenly blinked and chimed.

"Huh? That's my Pup Tag..."

Though the pups tended to rely on verbal communication, Ryder had built a messaging system into their Tags and his Pup Pad long ago, in case the pups wanted to leave each other messages. Though they tended to use it for personal messages, assuming that they used them at all. Tapping his Tag, a holographic image sprung forth from it, revealing an image and a text from Jake.

"rocky sez ur th best :D"

"Hey, look!" Everest laughed. "It looks like Rocky finished his catapult!"

"That's one cool-looking gizmo!" Tracker added.

The image, more specifically, was a selfie of a grinning Jake kneeling with his arm around Rocky, with Rocky wearing an ecstatic smile. And behind them was the catapult, neatly put together and painted white and green, with some red writing on the side reading "ROSHALL FLINGER". The device was smaller than Rocky's previous attempt, but looked very sleek and well-crafted.

"What's a… 'Roshall' though?" Marshall asked, oddly intrigued by the name alone.

Everest laughed. "I think that's supposed to be your names."

"'Ro' for Rocky and 'Shall' for Marshall, right?" Tracker posited.

Marshall looked for a little longer, but his curious face had now changed to one of amazement and pride.

"Wow… That's really cool, Rocky..." Marshall whispered.

"It sure is!" Tracker affirmed. "You two did a really good job with that!"

"Can't wait to see it in action!" Everest added excitedly.

"Maybe when we get-"

Marshall was cut off by the feeling of something cold hitting the top of his snout. It was cold and oddly wet. Touching his paw to it, he heard something strike the ground next to him. Then he heard something else hit the ground, followed by more of the same thing hitting his entire body. The dalmatian froze on the spot as he realised what it was, his breathing becoming quicker and louder and his eyes widening.

"Aww, man, really?" Tracker groaned. "Now-"

"WATER!!!" Marshall screamed, cutting Tracker off in mid-sentence. "GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY! STOP! PLEASE STOP IT!!"

Everest went rigid. "Marshall! Wh-Wha-?! What the heck's gotten into you?!"

Marshall didn't listen, running around frantically while hyperventillating. "I'VE GOTTA HIDE! GET AWAY FROM THE WATER! STOP IT! NO! PLEASE!"

Tracker was wide-eyed. Marshall wasn't known for having panic attacks like this. "Marshall! Hey! Espera! Slow down!"

Once more, Marshall didn't listen.

"Oh, no! I didn't even think about rain!" Everest shouted over Marshall's panicked yells.

"He's getting soaked!" Tracker shouted back. "Hold on! I'll be right back!" Tracker turned and ran off to get something.

Everest continued to try to get the attention of the panicking dalmatian, but to no avail. Marshall was completely terrified for a reason that she could barely comprehend. It felt like an eternity before Tracker returned carrying a beach umbrella in his mouth, which he quickly stuck in the ground and opened.

"MARSHALL! HEY! GET UNDER HERE!" Tracker yelled, trying to get through to Marshall.

Thankfully, it seemed like the panicking dalmatian heard him, looking at the beach umbrella and scrambling to get under it, curling into a shaking, wet ball.

"Nomorenomorenomore, please get the water away! Stopstopstop! I can't! Icanticanticant! Water, rain, gonna die-!" Marshall gibbered, sounding like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Marshall! Hey! Shhh, shhh! It's OK! It's just rain!" Everest frantically attempted to reassure the pup.

"Oyoyoy…" Tracker whimpered. "I didn't even think about this..."

"I didn't think it'd get this bad." Everest looked at Tracker sadly. "Not even Rocky gets this bad around water..."

"Wouldn't you be, if you nearly drowned in it?"

"I guess… But what do we do?"

"Well, we gotta get him home, first… But none of our vehicles have roofs…"

"What about this whole thing with water, though? I mean, how's he gonna live if he gets like this every time it rains?"

Tracker paused. He had to admit, he didn't know the answer to that. His first thought drifted to trying to get him used to water again. But neither of them were the right pups for that job. After a period of silence, both pups' eyes widened as they shared a look with each other.

"I'VE GOT IT!" they both yelled.

"Looks like you're thinking what I'm thinking, Tracker." Everest said.

"Si, I think so." Tracker replied. "Can you call Zuma? I'll try and calm him down a little."

"Got it." Everest replied, as she moved further away from the two pups.

Sadly, the rain hadn't eased up, and showed no signs of doing so. Getting Marshall back to the Lookout was going to be quite difficult, even as Tracker tried to soothe the spotted pup by laying his paws on Marshall's head. Being surrounded by water again had unfortunately put Marshall back in the mindset of fighting for his life among the raging current of the freezing river. But right now, the first priority was trying to ease Marshall's nerves for the time being. At least enough to get him home so that a certain chocolate labrador could take his turn to help Marshall out.

"Evewest?" Zuma's voice finally came through Everest's Pup Tag. "What's up? Something wong?"

Everest sighed heavily. "Yep. REALLY wrong. You've gotta get down here right away. See..."


	16. Beyond Your Depth

"Sewiously?! Jeez… Not even Wocky gets that bad..."

Naturally, when a confused Zuma had arrived on the stretch of beach in his hovercraft after hearing getting the rundown of the situation from Everest, he was even more confused to see Marshall of all pups as a quaking, gibbering ball of wet fur under a beach umbrella. Through some careful movement and a lot of encouraging words, they were able to coax the soaking wet pup into Zuma's hovercraft, with the umbrella carefully lodged in so that it couldn't fall out.

Marshall was still babbling in broken fear after Zuma had managed to get him home and into the Lookout, where Everest was working to try and dry out his fur with a hairdryer from Rocky's truck. Tracker wasn't having a much easier time than Everest trying to explain the situation, even after having been there to see it.

"I still can't believe it myself, Zuma!" Tracker continued. "I mean, a pup snapping like that? Being THAT scared of water? And it being MARSHALL of all pups?! It's completely loco!"

"But I mean, it kinda makes sense..." Zuma replied, looking sadly at the pup crying frightened tears next to Everest. "...I mean, it's not wight, but I can kinda see why Mawshall's like this..."

"So you see why we need you, amigo. You're the water pup, here. If anyone can help Marshall through this, it's you."

Zuma looked less than certain. "I… I dunno, dude… I mean, if Mawshall was stuck on an island or something, I could help him out easy. But you're asking me to help him not be scawed of water anymowe. I-I wouldn't even know where to stawt! What do you think I should do?"

Tracker looked down at the floor, before giving Zuma a look of braced guilt. "...That... we don't know yet."

Zuma narrowed his gaze to an unimpressed glare. "So, I guess I'd just be able to cast some kinda spell and make evewything bettew. Nice, dude. Weal nice."

"I know, I know, lo siento… But what else are we supposed to do?"

"You tell me!"

"Por favor, Zuma… Please… We… can't just leave Marshall like this..."

Zuma looked around, before sighing and squeezing his eyes shut. "It's not that I don't wanna help..." he whined. "I just… I just have no idea what to do… I'm… I'm scawed, too..."

Tracker knew how Zuma was feeling. But then, he had the feeling that nobody would know what to do right now. The only one with any ideas in this kind of scenario would usually be Ryder, but in his current condition, he obviously wasn't going to be of any help. And that left two of the youngest pups in the team to come up with the ideas. Suffice to say, they were both feeling hopelessly out of their depth.

"Zuma… We-We'll think of something..." Tracker stammered, his voice betraying his words.

"I-I guess…" Zuma replied, sounding similarly unsure. "L-Let's just chill out… a-and take this slow."

As Zuma and Tracker whispered among each other, slowly, Marshall had quietened down and ceased shaking. He was still breathing heavily, but it seemed that Everest had successfully dried him off enough to bring him down from his fearful frenzy. Seeing this, Everest had turned the slightly-beaten hairdryer off and laid it down on the ground, slowly moving over to Marshall, making sure her still-sodden fur didn't touch him.

"You OK, now, Marshall?" Everest asked gently.

"...u-uh..." Marshall stammered. "...m-m-maybe?"

"I'm so sorry… I didn't actually think it was gonna rain… I totally forgot about the river… A-And I didn't know you hated getting wet now..."

"...n-not your fault..."

Everest let out a protracted whine of grief. It was her idea to bring Marshall on their walk, but not once did she consider rain. Nor did she consider how Marshall might feel about getting wet after nearly drowning and being lost in the woods for three days.

"...B-But… It totally is… I-I'm the reason… th-this is all happening..." Everest whined, letting a couple of tears slip out.

"...d-don't… cry…" Marshall stuttered. "I don't… b-blame you..."

"H-How?! How could you not?!"

"I think he's twying to say he knows you didn't think it'd wain. If, uh, that makes any sense."

Everest looked up with wet eyes to see Tracker and Zuma walking towards the pair of them, with Zuma at the front.

"Point is, he knows this was an accident. And that you didn't know he'd weact like that."

Everest sniffled. "I-I… guess..."

"Hey. Don't beat yourself up over it, Everest. I mean, Marshall won't." Tracker added reassuringly, walking up next to Everest and placing a paw on her back. Everest looked at Tracker, a tiny smile forming as her tears dried.

"Anyway..." Zuma went on. "...Mawshall. We've got an idea for when this wain stops. We wanna help you get past this whole 'scawed of water' thing. We don't need TWO pups who hate water, aftew all. Especially when they're our fire pup!"

Zuma waited for a few seconds, but there was no break in the heavy silence save for Marshall's laboured breathing. Zuma felt slightly defeated as his attempt to break the tension fell flat.

"Uh, ahem..." Zuma coughed. "Look, Mawshall. We wanna help you. Being scawed of water like this is SO not you. So we were thinking once this wain stops, I can spend a little time with you and help you get used to water again."

"NO!!!" Marshall shrieked suddenly, causing everyone to jump. "I CAN'T! I CAN'T GO NEAR WATER! PLEASE! DON'T MAKE ME DO THAT!"

"Mawshall! Hey! Hey! Easy!" Zuma cried. "This isn't like the wiver, you hear? What I'm thinking is I can bwing out the swimming pool and we'll go thwough a little… twaining, I guess?"

Marshall whimpered in fright. "I… I… can't..."

"Why not, dude?" Zuma asked sincerely.

"...nearly… d-died..."

"I know, Mawshall… But like I said, this isn't like that." Zuma leaned in closer to whisper in Marshall's ear. "I know we couldn't save you a few days ago. But this time, I'm gonna be with you all the way. It's only a swimming pool. You're gonna be completely safe in there." Zuma gently licked Marshall's cheek. "You're not alone. Never fowget that."

Marshall had fallen entirely silent. While he didn't answer Zuma, he'd at least stopped whimpering, which was as good a sign as any.

"So what do you say, Marshall?" Tracker asked. "You think you can do it?"

"Please, Marshall." Everest added. "All we want is for you to at least try."

For a long while, Marshall didn't reply. Though his breathing had started to slow to a more reasonable rate, he'd fallen entirely silent. But it was still as clear as day that, for once, their brave dalmatian was utterly terrified. Eventually, however, Marshall mustered up the courage to reply.

"...I'll try..."

Those two words proved to be enough to bring a huge smile to the faces of the three pups. Hearing those words felt surprisingly good to them all.

"That was the wight answer, Mawshall." Zuma beamed.

It felt like the rain was never going to stop at some points. But strangely, trying to soothe Marshall's shattered nerves made the time rocket by for the three pups in the Lookout. Soon, the rain had vanished altogether, leaving the ground around the Lookout slightly damp, but still very usable. The issue was trying to get Marshall to walk on it. The dalmatian acted like he was walking on hot coals the entire way to the pool that Everest had retrieved from Rocky's truck, the mix helping to inflate it to be filled with water.

Of course, with Marshall too paralysed with fear to operate his Pup Pack, Tracker had taken the initiative to grab his Pup Pack and attempt to fill the pool himself. A passing Rocky was grateful on an admittedly-selfish note that he and Marshall finally shared some common ground when it came to water. But at the same time, he was terrified of the prospect of Marshall possibly never using his Pup Pack again, considering that Tracker ended up drenching everything for miles around with Marshall's water cannons, only filling the pool after a solid minute of soaking everything else, including a thoroughly vexed-looking Everest.

"Come on, Everest!" Tracker pleaded. "I said lo siento!"

"'Lo siento' doesn't dry me off, Tracker! Jeez!" Everest huffed.

Marshall, to his credit, seemed to realise that Tracker was going to spray everything that wasn't the pool, as he'd quickly made himself scarce behind the cover of his Pup House, not daring to peek his head out for fear of it getting hit by water. But with Everest and Tracker arguing over the former's poor aim, he'd slowly peered around the side

"You can't expect me to know how to use this, Everest! I'm a jungle pup, not a fire pup!" Tracker defended.

"I'd at least expect you to not panic so easy!" Everest retorted. "You were like a fish out of water, wriggling around like that!"

"Hey!"

The two immediately ceased arguing upon hearing a familiar voice coming from the Lookout. Turning around, they saw a chocolate labrador in orange diving gear walking towards them with a scowl on his face.

"Why are you two awguing now?!" Zuma demanded. "I thought we were twying to help Mawshall get over his feaw of water, not awgue over not knowing how to use Mawshall's Pup Pack!"

The two looked at the pup standing before them, Everest being more than slightly indignant that they were being lectured by a pup that was far younger than she was.

"He started it!" Everest shouted.

"She started it!" Tracker shouted at the same time.

With an exasperated expression, Zuma moved in to gently clip both pups around the ears with his paw.

"Come on! Stay focused!" Zuma demanded. "You two lovepups can have your fight latew! Wight now, we've gotta make sure this pool is filled."

Tracker grumbled to himself with displeasure. "Well, the pool looks pretty full to me, I dunno about you." he replied.

Zuma looked in and peered at the water filling the pools. "Yep. I'd say that looks good. Pool's big enough to fit us both, too."

"So our job's done, then?" Everest asked.

"Yep. I can take it fwom here." Zuma replied.

"¡Muy bien! I can finally get this thing off! It's evil!" Tracker said.

"Guys, befowe you go..." Zuma began in a surprisingly stern voice for such a young pup. "I want you two to apologise to each other. Both of you were just being silly. There was no need to awgue like that, and you both know it."

Everest and Tracker went rigid. Thinking about it, Zuma had a point. What were they arguing about, anyway? Tracker may have had poor aim, but Everest knew that she went too far in yelling at him for it. Although Everest felt bad, she also felt incredibly silly. To the point that she couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Oh, Tracker!" Everest laughed. "Wh-What is wrong with me?!"

"Well, maybe that you don't like getting wet..." Tracker replied with a sheepish grin.

Everest laughed for a while longer before slowing down and catching her breath. "I… I'm sorry, Tracker… Pff- heh, heh..." Everest giggled. "I… overreacted, huh?"

"Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't more careful, amigo." Tracker replied with a smile.

"Wanna settle our differences with Pup Pup Boogie?"

Tracker suddenly perked up. "I'm all ears! Or… y'know… paws. I'll need those, too."

Zuma couldn't help but laugh himself as he watched Everest and Tracker sharing a laugh as they both walked into the Lookout and disappeared into the ground room. Once they were firmly out of sight, he looked around, only to realise that Marshall was peeking out slightly from behind his Pup House. Realising that he probably wouldn't be able to call the frightened pup over, Zuma made his way over, only to realise that Marshall actually had a small smile on his face as he got closer.

"What a show, wight, dude?" Zuma asked lightheartedly.

"They remind me of me and Chase, actually..." Marshall replied fondly.

"What, that you get into silly fights ovew little things but love each othew to death?"

"Yup… Funny how they don't talk much, but they have that kind of friendship going on, right?"

"To think Twacker thought he didn't desewve to be called Paw Patwol..."

"And look at you acting like the big brother! You're really growing up, huh?"

The two shared some light laughter for a few seconds before falling into an awkward silence. Looking at Marshall's face, it was painfully clear that he really didn't want to go through with any of this. But he couldn't remain a hydrophobic wreck forever. Steeling himself for a possible argument, Zuma took a breath in.

"So… you weady, dude?" Zuma asked, watching as Marshall's face fell into a scared, worried frown.

"...n-no..." Marshall whimpered.

"Didn't think so. But hey." Zuma gave a reassuring smile. "We'll both do it togethew. I'm not gonna leave you alone in there. Evewything's gonna be cool. All I want is for you to twy your best, OK?"

Marshall found it funny how Zuma had a way of reassuring people. When giving out surfing lessons, people never seemed to be nervous of what came up when Zuma was the one teaching them. And even though he was about to come into contact with the substance that came close to killing him, beneath his fear, he felt oddly ready.

"...OK, Zuma..." Marshall whispered waveringly. "I'm ready… I'll do my best..."

Zuma's smile only grew wider. "Alwight! Let's dive in!"

Marshall's reluctance to follow Zuma was very visible. Slowly, the dalmatian could be seeing dragging his paws over the damp ground over the Lookout, which he earlier seemed to treat like lava, until he arrived at the pool. Staring into the rubber pool filled with crystal-clear water, Marshall felt his heart rate begin to intensify yet again.

"I… I'm… still scared, Zuma..." Marshall said shakily.

"Tell ya what, Mawshall. On thwee, how about we both jump in?" Zuma offered. "I wasn't gonna leave you in the pool alone, y'know?"

"O-OK..."

"Alwight! Then..." Zuma got into position and stuck his rear in the air, kneeling down and readying himself to pounce into the water.

"One..."

Marshall swallowed heavily, before taking a similar stance to Zuma.

"Two..."

Marshall began to shake and breathe heavily again. But Zuma was counting on him. If he backed out now, he'd be letting Zuma down, who'd been nothing but patient with him. If one looked into Marshall's eyes, they'd be able to see small embers of determination dancing within them. Embers that had been extinguished long ago. But had now, if slowly, been rekindled anew.

"THWEE!"

And acting on his heart more than his head, Marshall sprang over the side of the pool and into the water, landing with an almighty splash alongside Zuma with the cold water going up to his chest.

Immediately, Marshall's heart began to race. It all started to come back to him. The freezing water of the river. His desperate struggle to keep his head above the water. The speed of him being swept downstream. The constant feeling that his short life was over. The tightness of his chest as the air in his lungs got more and more scarce. It didn't take long for Marshall to start hyperventilating as he felt the water soaking into his fur. But it also didn't take long for his breathing to slow back to down to a more controlled, if still rapid, rate as he felt a wet arm laid across his back.

"Easy, dude." Zuma whispered, now dripping wet himself from the water in the pool. "There's nothing to be scawed of. I'm with ya. Like I said, this isn't anything like the wiver."

Marshall didn't respond, except with heavy breathing.

"It'll all work out, man. Let's just take this slow, huh? Let's stawt by getting used to how the water feels again. Just wemember, you'we not in dangew anymore. Evewything's fine."

Zuma continued to reassure Marshall of his safety as the two spent a while just standing around in the pool. It was admittedly slightly-awkward to just be standing around in a swimming pool while having a one-sided conversation, but Zuma thought he knew what he was doing. It was just like teaching people to swim. You had to get them used to the water, first. Or in this case, you had to reassure them that water wasn't death. Simple enough... right?

After five minutes, Zuma finally changed his words.

"So? How do ya feel?" Zuma asked, nothing that Marshall's breathing had become far calmer. "Any better?"

"...maybe a little?" Marshall replied quietly, if shakily.

Zuma smiled warmly. "See? Not so bad, huh? You're getting bettew alweady, dude!"

Marshall seemed a little dumbfounded. "I am?"

"Well, let's see, huh? I want you to do something for me. And again, there's nothing to be scawed of. It'll be totally safe."

"...Y-You sure?"

"(Not really.)" Zuma thought. "Mawshall. I want you to put your whole head underwater. Slowly. Then come back up slowly."

Marshall's reaction was predictable at this point. His face shifted to one of terror, and once more, his breathing started getting more erratic. "U-Underwater…?" he stammered. "N-No… No, I-I can't! I-I really-"

"Whoa, dude." Zuma interrupted. "I know it's easy to say, but be cool. I'm here." Suddenly, Zuma stared into Marshall's eyes with a surprisingly fierce degree of determination. "I. Will. NOT. Let things go south. I pwomise." He lifted a paw from the water and held it aloft. "Pup Scout's honour."

Marshall breathed heavily for a second, before swallowing heavily. "If you promise, Zuma."

"I do, Mawshall. Now, head down. Slowly."

Marshall pushed the air from his lungs, before taking a huge, sharp breath in, and fighting his body's instincts to get out of the water immediately, squeezed his eyes closed and forcibly lowered himself beneath the surface, feeling the cold water envelop his mouth, nose and ears.

Unlike his time in the river, where he was desperately fighting to stay alive, this time, being underwater felt oddly tranquil, as much as it reminded him of his fight for his life. Marshall couldn't deny that his heart was speeding up again, nor that he may have risen too quickly when Zuma clearly shouted "Back up!" through the water.

"Caweful, dude." Zuma gently reprimanded. "That was too fast."

"I know, sorry..." Marshall sighed.

"Twy to come back up a little slower. We're still getting used to how being underwater feels, wemember."

"Got it."

"Now, let's twy it again. Head down."

Slowly, Marshall's fears started to melt away the more he trained with Zuma. The labrador was always known for being calm and laidback, which was probably why he was considered such a good teacher for swimming. As much as his memories of the river were still haunting him, strangely, with each time he vanished beneath the water and slowly came back up, his fears ebbed away more and more. After what had to be the fifteenth time, Zuma finally put his paw out to stop Marshall from going underwater again.

"Huh? Zuma?" Marshall said, confused. "Wh-What's up?"

Marshall thought that it had to be something good, since Zuma was beaming at him.

"I think that's enough, dude. I'd say this whole 'scawed of water' stuff is on its way out."

"Wait. You think?"

"'Think'? I know! I saw how calm you were the last few times you went underwater. And you aren't bweathing so heavy anymore. Tell me. How do you feel now? Scawed? Wowwied?"

Marshall briefly trawled his mind for how he was feeling, before coming to a conclusion that even surprised him.

"...no."

Zuma smirked. "Told ya. Evewything's. Fine."

"Zuma… Thank you… I-I can't believe you'd go this far for me."

Zuma nuzzled into Marshall's neck. "Hey. What are bwothers for, Mawshall?"

Once more, Marshall found himself hit hard by the reminder of his bond with everyone else. "Aww, baby bwo Zuma!" Marshall cooed, grabbing Zuma and getting his head wet with a massive noogie.

"Gaaaawaaaawwwgghh-!" Zuma choked. "Mawshall-! C-C'mon! Stooooooop!"

Marshall complied, laughing the whole time. "You love it, don't lie. I can see your tail down there."

Zuma looked back to see his tail wagging up a tidal wave underwater. "OK, OK, you got me..." he admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Aww..."

The two pups were distracted by a sudden voice coming from in front of them. Looking, they noticed the smiling face of the team's other younger pup, with a familiar red pack, helmet and vest at his paws.

"Rubble-!" Marshall spluttered in embarrassment. "H-How long have you been standing there?!"

"Long enough." Rubble replied coyly. "But that was really sweet, guys… It was just like old times. And hey, it looks like Zuma did a good job with you, Marshall!"

"Hey, I just did what I could." Zuma replied humbly. "And Mawshall, if you ever feel like that about water again, you dwag your spotted butt over to me wight away, mistew. Cleaw?"

Marshall beamed and gave a fake salute. "Cleaw!"

All three pups quickly burst out laughing.

"Anyway, guys..." Rubble chuckled. "Everest and Tracker sent me down with Marshall's Pup Pack. They asked if I could help Marshall get used to his Pup Pack again."

Marshall snorted. "Figures. Tracker darn near flooded the place just trying to fill the pool!"

"Yeah, Rocky said." Rubble replied, recalling the face of the mix as he vacantly remembered the horrors of Tracker's attempt.

"Letting anyone else use Marshall's Pup Pack is way too risky! Who knows how much water they'll waste?!"

No-one had noticed that Rocky had appeared from behind the pool and spoken up. Upon laying eyes on him, however, a huge, playful grin spread across the soaking-wet Marshall's face.

"ROCKYYYY!" Marshall yelled elatedly, bounding out of the pool, quickly recovering from the ensuing ungraceful tumble. "GIMME A HUG! DIDN'T YOU MISS ME?!"

Things didn't get any quieter after Marshall's yell as Rubble and Zuma watched Marshall charge after Rocky with the bulldog and labrador laughing their heads off. And things got louder still with Rocky running away screaming.

The pups still had yet to stop giggling after everything was said and done. And in fact, the laughter only intensified when Rocky ended the chase by throwing a towel in Marshall's face in a panic. Taking the hint, Marshall managed to dry himself off and return to Rubble and Zuma to help with emptying the pool and putting it away.

"You can be pwetty scawy sometimes, Mawshall!" Zuma laughed as he finished throwing the pool back into Rocky's truck, the mix having taken shelter in the Lookout.

"You were holding back, right?" Rubble asked.

"Guys, I'd never wanna get Rocky wet on purpose!" Marshall retorted with a smile, putting on his Pup Pack, helmet and vest. "So what were you thinking, Rubble? Anything you want me to do?"

"Well..." Rubble began. "It was just watering some trees. We wanted to see if you were still sharp with your Pup Pack. We don't know if spending time in the forest has made you rusty or not."

"Hey, anything to use my old equipment again." Marshall said, grinning. "I mean, the only thing I used my Pup Pack for in the forest was getting the water out of it."

"And you had enough to get home?" Zuma asked sadly.

"Just barely..."

The reminder of Marshall's journey home got the pups whining in fearful sorrow again. Now Marshall had just confirmed that with such little water, he'd only just had enough to make it home, and had he taken a few hours longer, his life may well have ended in the forest, lost to the demon of thirst.

"Bluh-!" Rubble babbled, shaking himself from his sad stupor. "Hey. Let's try not to think about what could've been, right? We've got work to do!"

Marshall and Zuma followed suit quickly. "Er, yeah, no point thinking about the what ifs!" Zuma stammered, sounding uncertain.

"Y-You're right, Rubble…" Marshall added. "...anyway. Got anything for me to spray?"

"Not right now..." Rubble said, wagging his tail. "But just hold on a sec. This pup's about to get diggy with it!"

Marshall and Zuma both watched as Rubble happily bounded across the wet grass of the Lookout, digging furiously at the ground with his paws, forming a scattered series of neat, if unevenly-sized, holes across the ground. The pups wondered if Rubble had suddenly developed a green paw. A thought that only developed further as Rubble ran into the Lookout and pulled out a small bag.

"What's in the bag, Wubble?" Zuma asked.

"Saplings!" Rubble replied, letting go of the bag. "Rocky got them as a present from Farmer Al, remember?"

"Wow, THAT was a long time ago..." Marshall thought aloud. "Didn't he say they came from a friend of his?"

"Sam, I think he said." Zuma replied.

"Anyway, guys!" Rubble interrupted. "First thing we're gonna do is plant these saplings. Rocky always said the Lookout could use some more green, after all."

"That's just Wocky..." Zuma added with rolled eyes and an amused smirk.

"So we're gonna plant the trees and then I'll water them all?" Marshall asked.

"You got it!" Rubble replied. "You guys up for it?"

The pups bounded over to the sack of saplings sporting eager grins.

"I'm fired up!"

"Let's dive in!"

The pups were no stranger to planting seeds, thanks to time spent helping out Farmer Al. But they used practically half of the bag of saplings filling in the holes that Rubble had dug. For the past few days, they thought that Rubble's happiness would never return. That his innocence had been brutally crushed by the loss of a friend and brother. But now it was back ten-fold. As was theirs. A few minutes later, Marshall and Zuma had finished planting the saplings, and Rubble had finished filling in the holes that he'd dug.

"Wow, this is gonna look cwazy in a couple years..." Zuma said in amazement.

"Always thought the grounds looked a little naked." Marshall added.

"And what's wrong with being naked?!" Rubble demanded playfully, prompting more giggling from the three pups. "Anyway. Ready to give these plants a drink?"

Marshall's face lit up. "You know it, Rubble! Arf, arf! Water cannon!"

The pups always found enjoyment in doing their jobs. Resolving an emergency was always their idea of fun, but Marshall never thought he'd be so eager to get back to fire pup matters. But then, he thought that someone else would have to take up his mantle after he fell into the river.

"Water spray!"

Saying those two words had never felt so good for the dalmatian. Nor did watching the ensuing gout of water flying from his Pup Pack feel so good. Everyone watched as Marshall gave each sapling a drink. The strange need to cheer was overwhelming for the pups.

"Yeah! Go, Mawshall!" Zuma shouted.

"Go for it, Marshall!" Rubble yelled.

"I'm… I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" Marshall cried, charging around the area and spraying down each sapling.

All of the pups were so eager and excited that none of them noticed the mixed breed approaching Marshall from as he continued to stand still while showering the saplings with water.

"Hey, guys! How's the plaBLAGHBLBLUGHPHHGLUBGLUBBBLLUUUPPLEUGH-!!"

Rocky always cursed himself for dropping his guard when Marshall was using his cannons, since doing this was often an invitation for getting a good soaking. And this time was no different, as Marshall turned around in curiosity, forgetting that he'd left his cannons on. Zuma, surprisingly, was fast enough to drop to the floor to avoid the stream of water. But Rocky, predictably, received a faceful of it.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry, Rocky!" Marshall cried, a few seconds after realising what was happening and shutting off his cannons.

Rocky slowly opened his eyes into a narrowed glare, his fur soaked and dripping from the umpteenth spraying he'd received from the dalmatian.

"Marshall! Water the trees, not ME!" Rocky barked, continuing to stare into Marshall's sheepish eyes as he put his cannons away and grinned fearfully.

"Err… I-I… I didn't-" Marshall stammered.

"Grr… I- C'mere, you!" Rocky snarled, thundering forward and rolling Marshall onto his back with his head.

"Whagh-!" Marshall yelped, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

Despite the amount of times the water-hating Rocky had gotten wet from his clumsy friend's antics with his cannons, not once had he gotten truly angry with the speckled pup. After all, that was just him, and Rocky loved Marshall for who he was, given that he brought so much laughter to them all. But he was more than willing to play rough, and he was proving it by pushing Marshall to the floor and using him as a towel by way of Rocky rubbing his face into Marshall's belly.

"GAH-! Hee hee hee hee hee! Ro-Rocky-! Ha ha ha ha ha! P-Please! Ha ha! M-Mercy! I-I'm ha ha ha ha! I'm sorr-eeeha ha ha ha!"

Zuma and Rubble could only laugh heartily at the display. And once more, at the back of their minds, there was an odd sensation of relief. With Marshall back with them and being as silly as ever, both things they thought they'd never get to experience again, the whole ordeal was deeply cleansing. As it was for Marshall and Rocky, despite the latter getting wet once again and the former being tickled senseless. Even Rocky was giggling a little.

Eventually, Rocky relented, satisfied that he was sufficiently less wet than before and that Marshall had learned his lesson, leaving the spotted pup panting where he lay as Rocky smirked down at him. Rocky couldn't help but press his slightly-damp face against Marshall's with a playful glare and grin.

"You're hopeless..." Rocky whispered with a playful undertone, obviously trying to suppress his own laughter as Marshall couldn't help but grin widely enough to practically split his cheeks.

It was an almost-typical day at the Lookout with the pups playing with each other and supporting each other in their less-than-proud moments. And this made all of them feel happier than they had in a long time.

But Marshall's near-lethal accident still cast a shadow over the group. And as happy as they all were, it still felt incomplete with two pups and one human stuck in a pit of depression.


	17. Crossing the Burnt Bridge

Chase couldn't lie: hearing all of the shouting and laughing coming from outside his Pup House did feel good to hear. Slowly but surely, light was coming back to his life. While the impact of his best friend's near-death wasn't going away any time soon, it was starting to feel like none of it had ever happened. Losing Marshall had made it feel like the sun itself had gone out, and now it was rising anew.

But it didn't fix everything. Least of all the yawning rift that had opened between him and another one of his dear friends.

Skye's venemous words and sheer rage still rattled around in his head. He never thought he'd see the day where a friend would hate him to the extent of wanting nothing to do with him anymore. And it was all because of his withdrawal. His disappearance when he was needed most. Of all of the mistakes he'd made as the Paw Patrol's second in command, this was far and away his worst. And one that he was sure he'd never recover from.

Little did he know, however, that Skye was feeling the exact same way. She had made a few mistakes of her own during her time as part of the Paw Patrol, but they all paled in comparison to screaming at Chase. Yes, his withdrawal was selfish and yes, it hurt that after Marshall came back, Chase would keep them in the dark for so much as a few minutes about his survival, but Skye knew full well that she would have done the same thing in Chase's position. Plus, he and Marshall were always so close. One's death would obviously render any of the pups inconsolable, to say nothing of the ones that were closest to them. Rocky was right: It looked like she was done trying to keep everyone's spirits up. Now it seemed she was only good for crushing them.

Both pups simply couldn't bring themselves to speak to anyone else. Instead they laid in their Pup Houses, content to let everything happen around them. They could only wonder what to do with their friendship with each other irrevocably burned to cinders.

Neither of them knew, however, that the pup they nearly lost was fully aware of their predicament. As were the others.

Marshall had just taken a good look at Skye from a safe distance and was now in the process of doing the same to Chase. Seeing them so sad and distant hurt. Moreso because he knew it was something that could be resolved if they just talked out their differences. But he could see it in their eyes. They thought that they'd torn themselves apart from each other forever.

"Ahem."

The sound of a cleared throat behind him drew his attention away from Chase and towards the source of the sound. Not that Marshall was surprised, catching the aroma of damp pup on the wind. It was clear who was trying to speak to him.

"Hey, Rocky..." Marshall sighed.

"You really shouldn't spy on those two, Marshall." Rocky admonished gently. "If they see you, they're only gonna feel even worse."

"I know, I know… But how can I not? You saw how torn up Chase and Skye were yesterday."

"You wanna help them, don't you?"

"That obvious, huh? I just don't know how I'm gonna do it… I mean, they're never gonna talk to each other by themselves..."

"So, what, making them's gonna go way better?"

"If it means they'll actually talk, then yeah. Don't you want them to feel better, too? To be talking again? Just like they used to before?"

Rocky paused for a second. "Well… yeah… But I don't wanna make things worse..."

"Rocky, how could it be 'worse'? They aren't talking to each other and they obviously feel terrible about making each other feel so bad! We've gotta get 'em to make up somehow! If they don't talk to each other, won't they just feel even more horrible?"

Rocky stayed quiet for a few seconds, puzzling over Marshall's stance on the matter.

"Rocky..." Marshall said with a pleading undertone. "...I can't do this by myself. I really, REALLY want Chase and Skye to make up, and I know you do, too. Please. Help me?"

Marshall was absolutely right. Rocky definitely wanted to see Chase and Skye make up. Thinking about it, Skye looked like she was being swallowed whole by her guilt. Rocky really was grateful that Marshall had come back. The simplest thought about how much worse things could have been if he hadn't was simply too sad to bear. Rocky swallowed and steeled his nerves.

"You got it." he replied. "But first we need to think. How are we gonna get them to talk? We can't just drag 'em over to each other by the ears."

"We'll think of something." Marshall reassured. "Wanna go to my house to figure something out?"

Chase had long lost track of the time. But somehow he was only feeling slightly better than he was after losing Marshall. Aside from that, he was in largely the same position as he was a few days ago: Slumped in his Pup House wallowing in his own misery. Chase knew that he had to do something, but he was completely lost as to what. He felt more able to leave his Pup House than before, at least. But what could he do? Talk to one of the pups? Play with one of them? He had to do something to take his mind off of Skye.

"Hey, Chase?"

Chase found himself jolted back to reality by a familiar voice, jumping slightly as the familiar voice of a pup brought him out of his own head.

"Marshall?" Chase asked. "What's up?"

"Just thought you looked kinda lonely. Wanna watch some TV together?"

"(Well. That's as good a place to start as any.)" Chase thought with a small smile. "Yeah, sure! Sounds great!" he replied, perhaps more eagerly than he intended. But right now, he welcomed the chance to have his mind taken off of his current troubles.

A few minutes later, it was Rocky's turn to enact his part of his and Marshall's plan. After Marshall had helped him out with his catapult, it was only right that he lend Marshall a helping paw. Of course, it helped that Rocky wanted to see things back to normal as soon as possible, too. Rocky walked into the Lookout and quietly made a beeline for the elevator. With no sign of any pups aside from the two glued to the TV, Rocky didn't have to worry about being seen, although jumping slightly when he heard Marshall's voice, though thankfully it wasn't directed at him.

"I've said it before, I'll say it again: MEGA Fire?! As if normal fire wasn't bad enough!"

"You should probably stick to fighting normal fire, Marshall." Chase replied lightly. "I think Mega Fire's a little out of your league."

"Yeah, and I think the Catastrobeasts are a little out of yours."

"Hm. Touche."

Rocky snickered a little. It was amazing how into that show those two were. But then, with a title like "Ultra Rescue Squadron", it had to resonate well with the police and fire pup of the team. The flashy special effects and insane fight scenes probably helped, too. Rocky silently vowed that some day, he'd watch an episode of that show with them. He was curious to see what all of the fuss was about. But for now, he made himself as scarce as he could as he felt the elevator ascend to the top of the Lookout, where Jake and Carlos remained still trying to talk to Ryder. Rocky put his all into pushing the need to check on his owner aside and stepped out wearing his Pup Pack and gear, moving around to the elevator's control panel.

"Alright… Arf, arf! Screwdriver!"

One brief session in front of the control panel later, the elevator was officially out of action, with Rocky not forgetting to explain to Jake and Carlos that they wouldn't be trapped up there for too long. The pup-sized slide wouldn't do them much good for getting back down safely, after all. Marshall's ladder would come in handy to get the elevator back online when the time came, but for now, Rocky took a trip down the slide to prepare for phase 2. After hopping out of his truck's seat as the engine roared to life, Rocky slowly and tentatively made his way towards the silver and pink Pup House, which currently held a morose-looking cockapoo.

"Hey, Skye?" Rocky piped up, taking note of Skye's surprise at suddenly being spoken to. "You doing OK?"

"...I guess…" Skye mumbled glumly. "But… why do you care?"

"What, I'm not allowed to be worried about a pup who's basically my sister?"

"...you should be more worried about Chase..."

"Chase is a strong pup. He'll be fine. Anyway..." Rocky hastily attempted to steer the conversation back on track. "You wanna watch some TV with me? It'll make you feel better."

"I dunno, Rocky… You guys don't really like the TV I watch."

Rocky felt his spirits raise slightly along with the corners of Skye's mouth. "Well, that is kinda true..." he joked. "...but I'll be fine. Trust me."

Skye giggled softly. "OK, Rocky… Let's go… and thanks..."

Rocky tried to keep his face in as neutral a position as he could as the pair walked towards the Lookout. But internally, he was braced for the worst. The anticipation was unbearable as he entered the Lookout with Skye close behind. He expected Skye to stop following him when Chase's back came into view. But to his surprise, all she did was avert her gaze and slow down to a glacial pace. Eventually, Skye made it to a cushion and lay down upon it, joining the other three pups for the second half of their episode of Ultra Rescue Squadron.

Chase had obviously taken notice that Skye had entered the room, as his eyes lay rigidly fixated on the screen, refusing to move so much as a fraction of an inch for fear that he might catch a glimpse of the pup that he'd burned bridges with. So much so that Chase wasn't watching the show as much as he was simply looking at it. But then, everyone was in the same position, not properly watching the TV thanks to the thick atmosphere cast over the room. Thankfully, the episode was simply a rerun. A rerun that didn't have so much as three minutes left before the credits.

The atmosphere remained as heavy as ever as the credits rolled. Chase and Skye remained as fixated on the screen as ever, as if looking at one another might end the world. The only ones moving were Marshall and Rocky, who looked head-on at each other. The latter signalled Marshall with a wink to indicate that it was time for the crucial phase of their plan. Marshall nodded and Rocky steeled himself once more.

"Err, sorry guys." he began. "I just remembered, uh… I've gotta go iron every single one of my vests! Later!"

Rocky whipped around and sprinted out of the room in an unusual hurry, to the confusion of Chase and Skye.

"(Since when did that pup iron? Heck, since when did any of us iron?)" Skye thought in bewilderment.

"Oh, wait-!" Marshall suddenly shouted louder than he intended, his eyes shooting open along with everyone else's. "Aww, darn it! Er, I-I just remembered! Um, it's, er- It's my turn to clean the toilets! URGH-!" Marshall attempted to turn around quickly, only to trip over his own paws and hastily drag himself to his feet. "Blurgh- er, catch you later, guys!"

"Marshall-! Wait up!" Chase cried as Marshall bolted out of the door "(Who gets in that much of a hurry over cleaning the toilets?!)" he thought.

Chase's confusion soon ebbed and his body went rigid. He realised that he was alone. With Skye. The one pup who he'd hurt the most. Chase quickly went into fight or flight mode, and decided on flight, stumbling slightly as he got up to hurry towards the door. But much to his horror, he turned around to see the doorway rapidly filling with green, along with a familiar recycling badge.

"What the-?!" Chase spluttered, realising that he wasn't just alone with Skye. He was trapped alone with Skye. "ROCKY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW!!"

Chase's yelling quickly attracted Skye's attention, who turned around to process what was going on. And what was going on was that Rocky's truck had just blocked them in with no elevator to escape with. The pups were completely and utterly trapped with the one pup they couldn't bear to bring themselves to talk to.

"Wha-?! ROCKY, THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!" Skye bellowed. "MOVE YOUR TRUCK, OR SO HELP ME-!"

Rocky hopped down from his truck as enraged yells emanated from the freshly-blocked door to the Lookout. Marshall moved out from around the corner of the Lookout to see what the situation was.

"Door's completely blocked?" Marshall asked.

"They're not getting out of that any time soon, don't worry." Rocky replied.

Marshall smiled slightly, before his face fell completely with a deep sigh. "I feel kinda bad about doing this… I mean, I know I want them to talk, but trapping them in there was kinda mean..."

"You said it yourself, it's worth it if they get to talk things out."

"So, now… I guess we just wait?"

"And hope for the best."

The two pups moved away to inform the other pups of what was going on. They knew that they probably wouldn't take kindly to the extreme plan, but they also had to tell them to listen out and not interfere. Or else things would be made far worse. But before they moved too far, the two whipped around in the direction of the Lookout and raised their voices right back.

"MAKE UP!"

Though the yelling coming from the Lookout didn't ebb. In fact, it only intensified.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!! ROCKY!! YOU'RE GONNA PAY WHEN I GET MY PAWS ON YOU!!" Chase yelled.

"YOU'LL BE SORRY, ROCKY!! MOVE YOUR TRUCK RIGHT NOW!!" Skye screamed.

The yelling had been going on for about five minutes non-stop as Chase and Skye slung curses on Rocky's head. It was slightly astonishing that they knew so many threats, but none of them had any effect in the slightest. In part because the pup in question was busy explaining himself to the others along with Marshall. Chase and Skye only stopped yelling when their throats began to hurt, and instead focused on trying to call the elevator, with Chase mashing the "call" button with his paw to no avail.

"It-! It isn't working! W-Wait-! ROCKY YOU LITTLE-! WHEN I FIND YOU, IT'S NOT GONNA BE PRETTY, YOU HEAR ME-?!" Chase immediately reignited when he put two and two together in his head, only to break down coughing, his throat crying out for mercy.

"Chase, pipe down!" Skye commanded. "Screaming isn't gonna help anymore!"

Chase soon realised that Skye was right and fell quiet. He could scream, yell and make threats all he wished, but those two weren't going to come back. And it didn't seem likely that anyone else was going to come and help them out of their predicament. But with this realisation came the thought that they were going to be stuck there for a good, long while. Defeated, Chase slunk to the corner of the room and rested his head against the wall, while Skye turned the TV off, unwilling to listen to it any longer.

The silence was deafening. The pups passed the time by wandering around, trying to think of a way out of the room. But with Rocky's truck blocking the door and the elevator out of action, they had no hope of escape any time soon. They didn't know how long they'd been trapped in the Lookout. Chase would've guessed half an hour, where Skye put her guess at around 45 minutes. But either way, the silence was unlikely to be broken in the near-future...

"They obviously want us to talk, you know."

...except by Skye, who finally spoke up, catching Chase's attention. It was clear that Skye had more confidence than Chase did at that point.

"...huh?" Chase whispered.

"There's no 'huh' about it." Skye retorted. "You heard the two of them as they walked away, right? This is how they wanted to get us to talk. They want us to iron things out. So. Let's talk."

Chase's heart seized up in his chest. There was no way that he was ready to do this. The strangled expression he was giving Skye was enough proof of that. Skye noticed, and sighed heavily.

"Look, want me to go first? We've both got stuff we wanna get off our chests. So how about I start us off?"

Chase glanced around nervously before taking a big, uneven gulp. "O-OK..."

"Chase, I'm gonna try not yell at you. I mean, pfft, that went SO well the last time I did that… Just gimme a sec to get my thoughts together?"

Chase didn't reply. Skye took a few deep breaths. Gathering her courage and calming herself before getting ready to get everything off of her chest. Until a few seconds later, when she was finally ready.

"I get it." she began. "I know. Losing Marshall did more than hurt you. I could tell. It destroyed you. Honestly, I'm amazed you even had the energy to leave the Lookout that night. I know how close you and Marshall are. Heck, you two were the pups who started it all. I can tell you didn't mean to get that angry when you were breaking the news. I don't really care about you pushing me anymore, to be honest. That one was on me, I think."

Chase whined as he listened to Skye.

"Point is; I know why you acted like that..." Skye swallowed hard as her heart began to ache again. "...but that doesn't change how darn SELFISH you were!!" Now Skye was audibly struggling to keep her composure. "I mean, I had to be brave for everyone's sake back there! No crying, no mourning, nothing! I was totally alone! I had no-one to help me through it! Not you! Not Ryder! NO-ONE!!"

"Skye, I-I-" Chase whimpered.

"I'm not done!" Skye interrupted harshly, before sighing again and sniffling slightly, with some degree of calm returning to her voice. "Even if we forget about me, what about YOU? I mean, all of us were worried sick about you, on top of how we felt about Marshall… We didn't see you leave your Pup House once. Ever. All of us… we pretty much begged you to come out. Begged you to talk to us… But you never did. I know you could hear us. But all you did was lie in there and mope! Some of us..."

Skye swallowed, with tears of anger beginning to pool in her pink eyes. "...some of us thought we were gonna lose you, too! And heck, we kinda did! You heard how worried we all were about you! We begged you to come out! We begged you to talk to us! But all you did was keep quiet! Did you even think about how we were feeling?! Just once?! And when you come out, you still don't even talk to us! You just run off! We're all worrying about you, and then you just… RUN AWAY!!"

Skye was closer to tears than ever. It was slightly cathartic for her to vent the way she did. Finally putting all of her emotions on the table for Chase to see. But it was more painful than anything. Perhaps more so because of how badly she was hurting Chase in doing so. But without airing her grievances, the pain would never go away.

"I-I… I'm so-" Chase stuttered.

"Chase, wait." Skye firmly interrupted once more. "Look… I know I shouldn't have pushed you… I shouldn't have yelled at you… I shouldn't have gone off on you and Ryder the way I did… Least of all with how you two were feeling… I mean, if I were in your fur and Marshall came and saw me first, I would've kept him to myself for a little while, too. But right now, all I want is for you to see my side of things… There's no way I'm cut out to lead… At all… I'm… too weak to even think about doing what you do… The last few days… Well, they proved it, didn't they? And don't bother apologising to me… I don't deserve a word of it..."

Now it was easy to see the tears leaking from Skye's eyes and dripping onto the floor. Her harsh words had wounded even her, and she was the one trying to get them all out of her system.

"A-And it's all… all because… I-I'm a… bad pup…" Skye sobbed.

Chase desperately wanted to walk forward and comfort the sobbing cockapoo, but he knew that right now, that'd be a terrible idea. She'd already shoved him once, and he wasn't in the market for having it repeated. This situation was already awkward enough, so all he could do was watch as Skye demonstrated how badly the last few days had hurt her. Once Chase was confident that Skye's painful sobbing had subsided, he spoke up.

"Is… I-Is it… my turn, now?" Chase asked shakily.

Skye took a few seconds to say anything. "Yeah… I-I think I'm ready to hear it." Skye's visible wince, however, betrayed her words.

Chase took a slow breath in, knowing that it wouldn't be long before his own emotions ran away with him.

"You think that excuses you acting like that?!" he barked. "I sure as heck hope not! Like I said yesterday, I felt like I'd totally burned my bridges with everyone! It's bad enough that I spent three days thinking I'd let Marshall die, and then I feel like everyone hates me! You wanna know why I cried so much when you shoved me?! It's because you're all my family! And when you shoved me, it felt like I'd been cast out for good! Do you have ANY idea how much that scares me?! ANY IDEA HOW THAT MADE ME FEEL?!!"

Now it was Chase's turn to be utterly enraged. Skye wasn't the only one who had a lot of pain brewing away inside of her. Skye's tears had started back up, along with Chase's own angry crying.

"All that time! All that time I'd been thinking that I wasn't good enough to be a police pup, way less part of the Paw Patrol! I know what I did was cowardly! I know I just left you alone! I know I should've been there for all of you! And let all of you be there for me! But you wanna know why I shut myself away?! I COULDN'T BEAR TO SHOW MY FACE AROUND ANY OF YOU!! How could I even look at you all when I couldn't even save my baby brother?! When I saw Marshall fall in the river, it felt like it was all my fault!"

Chase had taken it a step further than Skye by being reduced to full-on crying. Skye was in shock. She knew that Chase took his duties and friendship with the others seriously, but now her stomach began to sink far enough to practically fall out of her body. If she wasn't feeling terrible before, she certainly was now. It felt like an eternity before Chase calmed down enough to speak again.

"Chase..." Skye whined sadly.

"I'm not done..." Chase stopped her. "Skye… I knew I shouldn't have shut myself away… but the whole time I was… I was seriously thinking about leaving the Paw Patrol…"

"HUH?!!" Skye shrieked in horror. "Chase, that's insane! Where the heck would you have gone?!"

"Don't know. Anywhere where I didn't have to be reminded of a team I thought hated me… Of a brother I thought had died right in front of me… And all I could do was… just… WATCH! Even if you DID get through to me and talk to me… I probably would've left anyway…" Chase gave a long sniffle. "Please, Skye… I just want you to see my side of things, too… Even if the rest of the pups loved me… For the last few days… It didn't feel that way..."

Skye felt dizzy. The way Chase was describing things, just one death in the Paw Patrol probably would've caused the entire team to fall apart. If Chase had left to live on the streets in shame, then how long would it be before the rest of the pups had followed? And where would that leave Ryder? Suddenly, Skye felt like one of the most evil pups in the world. She felt sick to her stomach. But then something else hit her: Chase, Ryder, Marshall, herself and everyone else were all a group of children.

It wasn't a subject that they had thought about often. The Paw Patrol's youth was usually forgotten about by not just them, but by everyone they had met, save for a select few. But the reminder of their ages made Skye remember that perhaps too much was expected of them. That they all served as each other's emotional crutches more than any of them realised. There was no way that they were ready to handle a tragedy like Marshall's. And Chase had just proved it with his own speech, showing that for all of his strength and leadership, in the end, he was just a little kid. As vulnerable and fearful as anyone else his age.

"Chase, are..." Skye stuttered. "...are you, er… done?"

Chase whimpered and sobbed a little. "Y-Yeah… Yeah, I'm done..."

"We've been… terrible to each other, haven't we?" she asked. "I mean, we're just pups! Kids! This was all… it was just too much for us all!"

"...you're right… I… just wish it didn't take losing one of our own to get that..."

There was another period of silence before Skye began to apologise.

"Chase, I've been a HORRIBLE pup lately!!" she shouted. "I mean, yeah, I was lonely and stressed, but I shouldn't have screamed at you, shoved you, ANY of that!!"

Chase was taken aback by Skye's sudden increase of volume.

"I… am… NOT… ready." she abruptly quietened down. "I mean, yeah, I can lead an Ultimate Rescue… But taking charge? Having everyone rely on you…" she started laughing mirthlessly for a few seconds. "I can't handle it at all… I just can't take it… And I took it all out on the pup who deserved it the least… you."

Skye swallowed repeatedly before continuing. "These were the worst days of my life… I never knew how scared I was of losing someone until today… I mean, I don't think I knew what losing someone was like until now… My parents are still alive, remember. And so's my old owner… But that… plus the pressure of being in charge at such an awful time…" she lowered her head. "...there's just no excuse. I'd say 'I'm sorry', but that's not gonna be good enough right now… is it?"

Chase was in a tough position. He still wasn't feeling inclined to simply forgive Skye outright, as much as he really wanted to. But if he did, then the whole thing would just feel incomplete. Like all of their heartache and pain was for nothing.

"No, Skye..." Chase sighed. "Look, you hurt me. But I hurt you right back. I'm just as bad here. Maybe even worse. I'm weaker than I thought… I just hid from everyone when they all needed me and I needed them. So all I did… was just pointlessly hurt everyone…"

Chase let out a sigh. "But I guess it's like you said… we're all just a bunch of kids… None of us could've taken a tragedy like that… And I think I proved it over the last few days… it's only recently I found out what it's like to lose someone… I mean, I don't even know who my old owner or parents were, Ryder's grandpa adopted me that early… But now that I know… Well, I don't want it to happen ever again…"

Chase swallowed. "I mean, not only did I feel like the worst pup alive, but I ended up pushing everyone else out when none of us needed it… It's like you said… I'd say that I'm sorry, but if I do that… then… well, all that time we spent being too scared to talk to each other was all for nothing… right?"

Skye couldn't deny that. Simply saying "sorry" and moving on would be incredibly empty. They'd spent the last day being too afraid to talk to each other after the pressure got to be too much for Skye and it led to hear unleashing a salvo on Chase. Both were still feeling terrible, even after they'd poured out their hearts and tears to each other.

"You're right, Chase..." Skye whispered. "We can't just say "sorry" to each other after the last few days… We hurt each other too much… We've both not been good pups, I guess… But I really, really, REALLY wanna be your sister again… I mean, Rocky did yell at me after I pushed you, and I totally deserved it, And that made me think about how much I hurt you… and how much I love you… But I can't say that when all I've been doing is yelling at you…"

Skye took a deep breath in. "So instead… I want a promise. Not only was I totally alone while you were gone, but I was scared… Scared of being leader, scared for how everyone else felt… And scared for YOU. Please, Chase. If we're gonna put this behind us, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me that you'll never shut yourself off again. That you'll always be there for us, and let us be there for you when we need each other. And please. Tell me that you'll never run away from us, and that you won't even THINK about leaving us behind."

Skye was certainly asking a lot from Chase. But then, it wasn't unreasonable. Chase had frightened Skye and the other pups worse than anything over the last few days. As far as he was concerned, he'd failed as a leader at the worst possible time. But now there was a spark of determination in him. A spark of determination to never fail his family again. Not Marshall. Not Skye. Not Ryder. No-one. With his eyes still wet with tears, Chase walked up close to Skye and stared deeply into her eyes.

"I'll never shut myself off again. I'll always be there for all of you and let you all be there for me when we need each other. I'll NEVER run away from you again. I'll never ever think about leaving you behind. Not now. Not ever."

Chase wondered for a couple of seconds if his apology and promise were enough. But Skye's small smile quickly caused his heart to soar.

"Chase…" Skye whispered happily. "...thank you… Thank you so much..."

Chase couldn't help but giggle slightly. "Oh, forget it, Skye… That was the least I could do… But now I want you to promise me something.

Skye's face suddenly shifted to a determined glare. "Anything, Chase."

Chase decided not to waste time. "Skye. I know you had the weight of the world just dumped on you… And a lot of that was because of me… 'Selfish' was a pretty good word for it, actually. So I want you to promise me that if you ever feel like things are too much for you, you WON'T. EVER. Keep it in. You come right to one of us and TELL US if you're feeling bad, or if something is too much for you. Remember. You're our sister. You wanna be there for all of us? It's only fair that you let us do the same for you, right?"

"Right!" Skye immediately replied. "Chase. I've learned a harsh lesson about not keeping it in the last few days. And trust me, I'm not in a hurry to do it again. So trust me. If I'm feeling bad, if things feel like they're too much for me… I WILL talk about it. You're all my family, too… I know that I'd be there for all of you in a flash… But I never thought about it the other way around… Well..." Skye suddenly cracked a big smile as she continued to stare into Chase's eyes. "...you won't have to worry about that anymore."

The entire time Skye had been talking, she hadn't once stopped staring firmly into Chase's eyes, just as he had done for her. But Skye's words had completely reignited something within Chase, rendering him too happy for words. More tears began to seep from his eyes. But this time, they were tears of a very different sort.

"Alright, alright, Chase..." Skye groaned jokingly. "We both know how this goes by now..."

Skye sat down on the floor and spread her arms wide for a hug. But she wasn't quite expecting Chase to lunge forward and leap at her, knocking her to the ground as he threw his arms around her.

"GYIPE-!!" Skye yelped as she crashed to the floor and felt Chase start to hug her senseless. "Guuuurrrrggghh-! Ch-Chaaaaase… M-My… ribs..." Skye choked.

"It-! It's your own fault!" Chase sobbed joyfully. "I-! I'm too happy to stop!"

"Urrrggghhh… At least… Let me… breathe a little…?"

Taking the hint, Chase let up to the point that Skye was at least able to get some precious air back to her lungs, along with being able to work her front paws free to return the hug and nuzzle Chase, having finally restored her friendship with him. At long last, the yawning rift between them had been closed, and they were back together.

"I love you..." Chase whispered. "...sis."

"Chase..." Skye whispered back. "I love you too… big bro..."

* * *


	18. Flying or Falling?

Neither pup had wanted their moment to end. After a long period of pain and sadness, a long period of wondering if they could ever speak to each other again, finally Chase and Skye were able to air their grievances and get back on speaking terms, both lying on the floor in each other's arms.

"I… I really thought you'd never speak to me again, you know?" Chase whispered.

"Hey, same here." Skye replied. "And it all would've been because of me."

"Funny. I was thinking it would've been because of ME."

"That's because you blame yourself for everything… Even when it's not your fault..." Skye whimpered in Chase's arms. "...this time it was mine… All mine..."

A period of silence passed as Chase rubbed Skye's back. "Hey. You know yesterday when I apologised to everyone? I didn't come up with all of that. I had help."

Skye blinked. "'Help'?"

"Yep. Marshall helped me come up with the speech. I don't think I would've gotten through it without putting myself down otherwise." Chase recalled fondly.

Skye chuckled lightly. "Are you saying you want to help me apologise to everyone?"

"Good catch. But only if you want me to, OK?"

Skye finally broke their hug and looked Chase in the eye with a sad smile. "Oh, don't worry. I REALLY want you to."

For the pups outside the Lookout, the time had slowed to a crawl. They all listened keenly, but none were listening harder than Tracker. All of the pups had wanted to know if Rocky and Marshall's plan to reunite Chase and Skye had worked, although it was slightly hard to ignore Chase's agonised shouting, with Marshall being particularly haunted by his brother figure airing how he truly felt over the last few days. But that was all that was particularly clear to anyone. Everything else was too garbled to make out. But it had been at least 15 minutes since the shouting had finally died down, and the pups were starting to get nervous.

"Hear anything, Tracker?" Rocky whispered.

"Its… too tough to make out." Tracker replied. "They're saying something, but I can't pin down what."

"Maybe… it worked then?" Marshall asked quietly.

"I REALLY hope you're right, Marshall..." Everest whispered back.

It was then, however, that everything fell quiet.

"Huh? I can't hear anything, now!" Tracker said worriedly.

"They stop- AH!"

Rocky jumped at hearing his Pup Tag go off, which, in turn, caused everyone else to jump.

"AH-! Easy, Wocky!" Zuma cried.

"You scared us!" Rubble added.

Rocky opened his mouth to retaliate, only to close it again, knowing that this was no place to argue. Instead, he slowly raised his paw to his Tag and tapped it in silence.

"Chase." Rocky greeted.

"Hey, Rocky..." a sheepish voice came from the other end of the line. "Er… Sorry about er… yelling at you like that..."

Rocky didn't reply. He just waited to hear what else Chase had to say.

"C-C'mon, Rocky… I didn't mean it… I just got a little angry..."

"I don't care about that, Chase. You know what I'm gonna ask you, right?"

"E-Er… Right…"

Suddenly, a female voice came from the other line. "Yes, Rocky. We made up. Everything's OK now. Well, er, kinda."

"'Kinda'?" Rocky replied, unconvinced.

"Well… I've got something I wanna say… To you and… well, everyone. But I wanna say it in person. Could you er… move your truck and let us out so I can do that? Pretty please?"

After a pause, Rocky cut the communication between himself and Chase and Skye and silently walked away from the group towards his truck. Hopping in, he did as Skye had asked and moved it away from the doors, parking it in the middle of the road and hopping out to see that Chase and Skye had already made their way out and were sitting just outside the doors, waiting for Rocky to come and join the group, who were all staring at the pair of them in silence.

"First of all..." Skye began. "...I've not been a good pup the last few days… as I'm sure you all know… I mean… I should've been so much happier when Marshall came back… But all I did was act out… I bottled up how I was feeling until it all just… well, exploded!"

It was plain to see how guilty Skye was feeling. She was obviously trying to keep her head from lowering to stare at the floor the entire time, but seemed to be failing.

"I know you all needed someone to look up to… Someone to lead you. Someone who could help you all feel better… But I realised that I'm not that someone… I mean, yeah, when it comes to air rescues, THAT I can handle… But when we lost Marshall and I had to step up… All I wanted to do was cry. Marshall's my brother too, y'know? And I didn't know what it was like to lose someone you love so much until a few days ago… But now that I know, I never ever never NEVER want it to happen again..."

Skye couldn't help but notice Marshall looking down and whining softly, prompting Tracker to place a paw on his back.

"It felt like everything I was doing was for nothing… Like nothing I did would make anyone feel better. Like everything I did would only make me feel worse and worse. And the whole time, I just forced myself to keep it together… And all it lead to was me lashing out at the two people who probably got hurt the worst by the whole thing..."

Skye gave Chase a sad look, and he responded by patting her back and smiling reassuringly. Whenever Chase stepped up to reassure someone, they rarely managed to stay down for long. For as stubborn as Chase could be, he was still the patient big brother through and through. Especially now that he'd finally managed to get his own pain off his chest. Skye took a deep breath in after smiling back and prepared to speak again.

"...so… Right now… All I've got to say is: I'm so sorry… I'm sorry to Chase most of all for blowing up on him the way I did." Skye cast her eyes back across the rest of the group. "I'm sorry to everyone else, too. Rocky, Rubble and Zuma, none of you should've seen me go after Chase the way I did. All of you basically watched me turn into someone I'm not because I can't keep a lid on my anger..."

Skye froze as she felt Chase nudge her, regarding her with a knowing look. "Er, well, it's actually BECAUSE I kept a lid on my feelings that this happened, but anyway..." Skye looked towards Everest and Tracker next. "Everest and Tracker, I didn't even TRY to help either of you. I basically just left you two to it, and heck, Tracker and Carlos I basically just gave up on! So I'm sorry to you both, too..."

Marshall was looking around at the group the whole time, trying to get a read on their expressions. But aside from Chase, everyone's expressions were blank and impossible to get a read on.

"...and Marshall."

The dalmatian jumped at the mention of his name and looked Skye directly in the eyes.

"You deserved to come back to something better than this. The last thing you should've heard about when you got back here was about how bad I felt and about how I ended up lashing out the way I did. You shouldn't have to take care of us after you nearly die and spend three days hiking back here! WE should've been taking care of YOU!"

Skye gritted her teeth and swallowed. "So… in other words… I'm sorry, Marshall… I'm sorry, all of you… I know I'm not a good leader… But right now, all I want is to start over with all of you… That is, if any of you want anything to do with me."

Everyone waited for a while after Skye finished her sentence. Obviously everyone save for Chase had something to say, but wasn't sure who wanted to speak first. But the first one to seize the moment was Marshall.

"Don't you think I like taking care of people and pups?" he asked. "I mean, if you were sick, had a broken bone, or heck, even if you were all at each other's throats! I would've jumped on any of those problems right away if it meant I got to see you all again. And hey, if I'd swapped places with any of you the day I fell, I'd probably feel the same way you did. So there's no need to apologise to me at all."

Almost as if by magic, Skye felt some of the weight being lifted off of her heart, giving a small sigh of relief.

"...thanks, Marshall..." she whispered.

"Same here!" Everest interjected. "There's no need to apologise to me, either! I was so lost that Jake couldn't help me, and he spent DAYS trying to get through to me! If Jake couldn't help me, all you would've been doing is making yourself sadder! I know you're not a bad pup, and so does everyone else! You just gotta learn that keeping it all in isn't good for you!"

"I'M the one who should be apologising to YOU, Skye!" Tracker added. "Me and Carlos both knew you were only trying to talk to us and we totally ignored you! You might've given up, but we didn't even try. So hey. Let's call it even, huh?"

Slowly, but steadily, Skye's hopes were building.

"Skye… I wish I knew that was how you were feeling… Zuma began quietly. "I mean, I knew you must've been huwt, too, but I didn't know how much you were holding it in! If you ever feel like that again..." Zuma suddenly adopted a serious expression and jabbed a paw in the cockapoo's direction. "...then don't even THINK about holding it in like that, ya hear? I… I don't ever wanna see my sister like that ever again..."

"Neither do I..." Rubble added. "I'm not gonna lie, you scared me yesterday, Skye. But… I know deep down, you were feeling as rotten as I was… Don't think I didn't notice you crying yourself to sleep when you slept in my Pup House with me a couple nights ago."

Skye whimpered in guilt, seeing how Rubble had seen right through her.

"Basically, like Zuma said, don't hide your feelings from us just because you wanna keep our spirits up… There's only so much one pup can take, after all."

Skye looked back up. "I won't, Rubble. I swear."

Rubble gave Skye a small smile in response. It felt like a massive load had been lifted from her shoulders. It was almost enough to make her laugh with relief. But there was still an odd one out. One who hadn't responded to her. One who was giving her a blank expression. It was hard to get a read on how Rocky was feeling right now, but Skye's nerves started to return as Rocky slowly approached her and sat down in front of her. Only to raise his paw and gently rap Skye's temple with it.

"That was for acting like such a butt yesterday." Rocky said firmly, before throwing his arms around her. "That's for doing such a good job making up with Chase..."

And now the load was entirely gone from Skye's shoulders. And her heart. Now Skye was feeling relieved enough to laugh with joy as she hugged Rocky back. Like Chase, she was afraid that after her outbursts the day before, she had entirely burned her bridges between herself and the pups. But after finally airing out all of her grievances with Chase, and apologising to the others, nothing made her happier than seeing that in the end, her fears and sadness were ill-founded.

All of the other pups looked on, smiling at the sight. After her spirits were brutally stamped into the ground by the loss of a friend and brother, Skye was on her way back. But despite everything, somehow, to all of them, the whole thing felt incomplete.

"Thank you, Rocky..." Skye whispered, nuzzling Rocky as the two held each other close.

"Hey, you came to your senses again. I should be thanking YOU." Rocky replied blissfully.

The pups all giggled softly.

"I guess everything's gonna be OK after all, huh?" Rubble asked.

Marshall's face fell as he turned to face the bulldog. "Er, not to be that guy, Rubble, but for some reason… I… still don't feel totally better… Something's… missing."

Chase frowned in response. "Let me guess: Ryder?"

And just like that, the mood plunged. Rocky and Skye broke their hug and gave each other sad looks.

"Bingo..." Marshall sighed.

"Oh, gosh…" Skye whined. "I just remembered, I blew up at Ryder, too… I've gotta go apologise to him as well!"

"Not so fast, Skye." Chase interjected. "Remember that Ryder's probably still feeling like garbage. We haven't seen him all day, remember?"

"Carlos and Jake have been trying to talk to him all day." Tracker offered. "How about we go ask them?"

Rocky sucked in air through his teeth. "Err… You're… gonna have to hang on until I can fix the elevator..."

"Huh? Wocky, what did you do to the elevator?" Zuma asked with a quizzical look.

"Er, Marshall? Could I borrow your ladder?" Rocky hastily tried to steer the conversation away from the topic.

"Er, yeah, coming right up!" Marshall stammered, bolting to his truck with Rocky close behind, leaving a pack of confused pups behind them.

A few minutes later, the elevator was back in action, with Jake and Carlos quickly taking it down to the lobby of the Lookout, where the pups were waiting.

"Dudes..." Jake began with an unimpressed expression.

"I know, I know..." Rocky replied sadly. "I'm sorry..."

"Well, I guess if it worked, there's not much to complain about, right?" Carlos sighed.

"I guess..." Jake replied. "But seriously. Don't trap us up there again, ya hear?"

"Yes, Jake..." Rocky whimpered.

Jake responded by comfortingly patting Rocky's head.

"So, amigos." Carlos said. "I guess you're wondering how Ryder is, right?"

"Right." The pups all replied at once.

"Is he… doing OK?" Marshall asked hesitantly.

Jake sighed. "Not good, dude. We've spent almost all day sitting around his door trying to talk to him. But he's had the door locked almost the whole time, and he's barely speaking to us."

"The only times he's come out are to use the bathroom..." Carlos added. "He's been so… quiet… And whenever we've seen him, he looks really pale and… well, kinda sick and tired."

The response, predictably, was met with collective whining.

"He's not better at all..." Chase said sadly.

"Well, actually..." Jake interjected. "...he's eating. We're passing bags of food and bottles of water to him through the dog door, and we can hear him eating and drinking. I know it's not much, but it's something."

The pups all looked at the two hopefully.

"Hey!" Rubble shouted happily. "Maybe he IS getting better!"

"Maybe." Carlos replied. "But it's muy lento. Really slow. Ryder's gonna take time. He won't be better today. All we can do is keep trying."

"But..." Skye stammered. "I've still gotta apologise to Ryder! I've acted like such a bad pup to him! I can't just let him suffer up there! He… He probably thinks I hate him!"

"Slow your roll, Skye." Jake said firmly. "Ryder's in a delicate place right now. Anything could send him right back over the edge. We've GOTTA take it slow, or else he'll probably just go right back to not eating and shutting himself off. You don't want that, do ya?"

Skye opened her mouth, only to close it again after a few seconds, lowering her head defeatedly. "No, Jake..."

Jake moved over to Skye and patted her head. "You'll get your chance, girl. But you just gotta be patient. OK?"

"...OK..." Skye whispered sadly after a brief pause.

It had been a hefty downer on their day to hear that Ryder hadn't gotten much better. Hearing about his condition had set the pups worrying about him yet again, but none moreso than Marshall and Skye. Clearly, the trauma of losing one of his pups had rooted itself deeply in Ryder's mind, and it was going to take an awful lot just to get him to talk to them.

To this end, Chase had offered up the idea to take their minds off of Ryder by subjecting them to a couple of episodes of Ultra Rescue Squadron. No-one was really in any position to refuse at this point, and everyone had quietly settled down to watch the show. Rocky was happy to finally see an episode of the show fully, and he had to admit, he found himself drawn in. As did Skye, who'd expressed a passing interest in it. Though aside from Chase, Marshall, Rocky and Skye, the rest of the pups were mostly unenthused, but the rest of them at least found the show goofy enough to make fun of while Chase and Marshall weren't paying attention.

Their attempt to distract themselves lasted until 8:30PM, about half an hour before the pups' usual bedtime. Just enough time for the pups to eat their dinner. The rest of the day had passed with barely a word from them all. Hearing that their beloved owner was still in a deep depression had hit them all hard. Wasn't Ryder supposed to have gotten better from getting Marshall back? In the end, though, all of the pups had retired back to the pillow pile from last night, all falling asleep one by one. And although they took comfort in each other's close presences, none of them could deny that Ryder's predicament still weighed heavily on them all.

* * *

_Marshall eventually found himself in a cold, dark, black void. He looked around, only to find the same inky blackness greeting him no matter which way he turned. Marshall opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. No words, no sounds, nothing. It was as if his voice was gone. Marshall moved to take a step forward, but his paw impacted nothing. And before the pup knew it, he was falling fast._

_Down he fell, unable to scream or cry out, falling for what felt like an eternity. Until he came to a painful stop by hitting a freezing torrent of water below him. It wasn't long before he felt himself being violently jerked every which way underneath the water, unable to open his eyes after closing them upon hitting the water._

_But when Marshall finally broke the surface of the water, he opened his eyes to find a familiar sight. The river that he'd nearly died in. Naturally, Marshall panicked. How in the world did he end up back in the river?! Marshall was able to cough and splutter as the freezing water tossed him around, dragging him helplessly along with the current. But still, he was unable to scream. Unable to cry for help._

_Rocks raced past him as the current dragged him along, and he quickly felt his chest tightening as he struggled to keep his head above the water, repeatedly getting mercilessly dragged beneath the surface. His hopes for survival were rapidly diminishing, but Marshall was too confused to even know what was going on. But soon, he breached the surface again, only to see the image of a familiar-looking german shepherd staring at him from a rock with a blank expression on his face._

" _He was useless anyway… Good riddance..."_

_Marshall barely processed that Chase had vanished thanks to his words stabbing him in the heart. How could Chase say something like that about him? Worse is that Marshall couldn't even say anything to him. But it didn't take long for Chase to be replaced with Skye, who wore a similar expression._

" _I don't know why I got so upset… We don't need someone that clumsy..."_

_A further blow to Marshall's emotions. The pups weren't even trying to help him! Did they really hate him that much? Again, Marshall was dragged below the surface, the air in his lungs growing even more scarce. And again he surfaced, this time revealing Rocky._

" _Just let him drown… He'll know how it feels when he keeps getting me wet..."_

_Rocky, too?! Once more, he was dragged beneath the surface, and his surfacing this time revealed Zuma and Rubble._

" _Just as well I couldn't swim that cuwwent… All the bettew for getting wid of that stupid idiot..."_

" _Why did he even think he was funny? Now maybe we'll get some peace and quiet after he drowns..."_

_It seemed the pups had shown their true colours. They all despised Marshall and wanted him to die. They were happy that he'd drowned in the river and they couldn't wait to get rid of him for good. Did his friendship with them all mean nothing? Once more, Marshall went below the water's surface, and once more, he surfaced, his lungs feeling like they were about to collapse. But there was but one more of his family who had yet to disown him. A familiar young boy was now standing on a rock, glaring at him._

" _About time that bad pup learned his lesson… Serves me right for having such awful taste… I won't adopt a pup that useless ever again… We're better off without him..."_

_Ryder's words proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Silently, Marshall shed tears as the raging river dragged him along, dunking him under the surface for the final time. Too physically and emotionally drained to keep fighting, Marshall began to feel dizzy. Slowly, darkness began to consume his vision, and the world grew blurry under the waves. But not before a rock came from nowhere, racing towards him, quickly filling his vision, ready for impact…_

* * *

Marshall woke with a bloodcurdling scream. He didn't notice as he thrashed around that his paws were hitting other piles of fur. Not hard enough to cause pain, but hard enough to be noticeable. But he was so scared that he took absolutely no notice. But his thrashing soon slowed enough to start taking in the environment around him. It was a Lookout shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the light of the moon, visible behind the several pairs of frightened eyes staring at him as he breathed heavily and quickly.

"Marshall… Hey..."

A familiar, sympathetic voice whispered to him. But Marshall didn't bother to listen to who it was.

"STAY AWAY!!!" Marshall screamed, getting to his feet and barrelling through the pups in front of him, tearing out of the door in a heartbeat.

Marshall knew nothing but to run, not questioning what just happened. All he knew was adrenaline and the tears spilling from his eyes. The entire town was quiet, with no-one around. Marshall didn't know where to run to, he only knew that he had to get to safety somewhere. Anywhere. Adventure Bay's roads provided a lot of running space, but Marshall could only think about the hurtful words that he'd just heard.

But it didn't take long for him to hear the roar of an engine behind him. Marshall could only keep running until it felt like his heart was about to burst, not bothering to look back at the source of the noise that seemed to follow him. But then he was even more frightened when he suddenly saw a net appear over him.

Marshall continued to thrash around in terror, desperately trying to get out of the trap, without any heed for where it may have come from, not noticing the blue truck come to a halt a few feet away from him.

"AAGH!! NO! HELP ME! HELP ME!!" Marshall screamed.

"MARSHALL!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!"

A familiar voice screamed at Marshall and something quickly hit him in the face. Only then did Marshall calm down enough to see what was going on, despite the extra adrenaline from what he assumed was a hefty slap. He noticed that the voice belonged to Chase, who was staring him in the face, shaking like a leaf and wearing a tearful, worried glare.

"WHAT IN THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?!" Chase roared waveringly, seeming on the verge of a breakdown of his own. "HOW COULD YOU RUN OFF LIKE THAT?! YOU SCARED THE HECK OUT OF US!!"

"Wh… Wh-Wh, I- Ch-Chase, wha-?" Marshall stammered in fright and confusion.

"WE ALL THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA LOSE YOU AGAIN! WE NEARLY LOST YOU AGAIN OVER A STUPID NIGHTMARE?! HOW COULD YOU?!"

Now that Marshall was able to listen, he finally realised that Chase was right. It was all a bad dream. A bad dream which seemed to take possession of him. One that scared him badly enough to disregard everything and run like the end of days itself was behind him. Marshall curled into a shaking ball and began to cry.

"Ch-Chase I-! I-I'm so sorry-!" Marshall sobbed.

Slowly, Chase got his own breath back, although continuing to shake and shed tears.

"...Don't you EVER do that again! Clear?!" Chase shouted in a strained voice that mixed rage and worry together, obviously trying to avoid a breakdown of his own.

"N-Never! Never ever! I'm s-so sorry!"

Chase paused, before barking out a command to his Pup Pack.

"N-Net… r-r-retract..."

Chase barely waited a few seconds before the net freed his friend and brother figure before he ran in and threw his arms around the sobbing ball of spotted fur.

"It was only… o-only a nightmare! Don't… don't cry-! It-it's nothing to… run away for!" Chase sobbed, ignoring his own broken tears.

"B-But… It was… s-so scary!" Marshall sniffled. "I-I mean there was the river, y-you were all there, s-saying y-you… were happy to… HAPPY TO GET RID OF ME-!"

"YOU'RE WRONG!! YOU'RE WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONGWRONGWRONG-!" Chase screamed back. "THAT COULD NEVER HAPPEN-! NEVER EVER!!"

Chase continued to tearfully rant on about how untrue Marshall's nightmare was until both pups ran out of energy, gasping for air on the floor where they both lay.

"Ch-Chase, I-" Marshall stammered. "I didn't… I w-was..."

"Hey..." Chase interrupted, punctuating his speech with hiccups. "I know how bad this nightmare must've messed with you… But… you shouldn't keep it in… Like Skye said..."

"I… I get it..."

Chase slowly got to his paws. "C'mon. I know a good place to talk..."

Marshall soon found the strength to walk behind Chase, who gestured to his truck. Not quite understanding what was going on, Marshall hopped into the passenger seat, with Chase quickly following into the driver's seat. But just before setting off, Chase placed a paw on Marshall's back.

"It's gonna be OK, Marshall… It was only a dream… We're all right behind you… Hang in there."

And although Chase had only just begun to reassure his friend, already Marshall felt much better.


	19. Hanging Heavy

The drive to Chase's "place to talk" was long, yet quiet. Now that Marshall had calmed down slightly, he had a faint idea of where Chase was talking about. But he still couldn't stop thinking about the hurtful words thrown at him in his dream. Nor could he stop whimpering at the painful memories of the river that nearly killed him.

As focused on the road as Chase was, he could hear Marshall's whimpers very clearly. It was enough to make him want to join in. From what little he could gather from Marshall's tearful babbling earlier, he had to have been dreaming about something pretty horrible, if a little predictable. Soon, Chase had parked his truck in a familiar location to him and Marshall and taken off his gear.

"We're here, Marshall. C'mon." Chase instructed gently.

"So the place you were talking about..." Marshall replied.

"Yep. I always did say this beach was a great place to go to relax. When I need a little time to myself. Or, heck, to wait for a miracle."

Marshall giggled slightly at Chase's last sentence as he shadowed the shepherd to the beach. Something told him that Chase would be holding the beach even closer to his heart than before, thanks to it hosting their reunion a couple of nights ago. Soon, the moonlit sea came into view, with the stars dotting the night sky as the moon smiled benevolently down them. The waves lapped gently at the sandy shores, and there wasn't a single other soul in sight. Strangely, Marshall felt more relaxed already.

"Brings back memories..." Marshall whispered as he walked to the centre of the beach where Chase waited and laid down next to him.

"Memories of a couple days ago, you mean." Chase replied lightheartedly, prompting giggling from the pair of them. "But you're right. I couldn't think of a better place to try to make you feel better when you did the same thing for me."

Marshall couldn't keep the smile off his face. Already, he was becoming convinced that his bad dream was just that. With no truth to it at all.

"OK, hotshot." Chase interrupted Marshall's thoughts with a surprisingly-serious tone. "What did you dream about that made you act like that?"

Marshall took a slow breath in as he prepared to recount his horrifying dream. "Well… you probably know where this is going, but..."

Marshall spared no detail in telling his dream to Chase, who stared at him with a wide-eyed expression of horror the whole time. As unsurprised as he was at what he was told, it didn't lessen the impact any. The moment Marshall repeated what Chase's dream version had said, the shepherd protectively threw his arms around Marshall, doing his best to stop himself from launching into yet another long speech about how wrong his dream was.

"I only woke up when… when I saw a rock coming at me..." Marshall whined. "...and… and I felt like… I was about to… d-drown..."

"Hey, hey… Shhhh… Shhhh… It's OK… None of it was real..." Chase whispered soothingly. "I know it hit close to home, but it was obviously totally wrong." Chase leaned in and nuzzled Marshall. "Remember how I cried with you when you came back? When I found out you were alive? Would I have done that if I thought you were useless? That we were better off without you? And heck, everyone else thought the same way. Think about it. How did Skye react when she came up to see you yesterday?"

"By nearly breaking my spine..." Marshall replied with great amusement.

Chase chuckled under his breath. "And what about Rocky? Rubble? Zuma?"

"Well… a whole lot of crying..."

"Sounds like they really hate you, right?" Chase asked sarcastically.

Marshall paused for a second, before sighing sadly and burying his face in Chase's neck. "I'm such a chicken..." he whimpered. "How could I have scared so easy? From just a stupid dream? I'm supposed to be braver than this..."

Chase gently licked Marshall in response.

"I get scared too, you know? We're all scared of something. I mean, Rubble's got spiders, Rocky's got water, Skye's got eagles, Zuma's got ghosts. But I've got losing my friendship with you guys. I mean, I don't know my breeder or my parents, Ryder's grandpa adopted me that early. So you guys are all the family I have… I've had bad dreams before about losing you guys, but I..."

Chase stopped for a while, seemingly unable to continue on for a second. "…I didn't actually realise how much it scared me until it came true..."

Marshall could only whine sympathetically.

"And now I know what it's like to lose a family member… Heck, if I'd known that this is what losing you felt like, I probably would've thrown myself into the river with you..."

Almost immediately, Marshall bolted upright with a horrified expression. "Chase!" Marshall barked.

"Scold me if you want!" Chase shot back, holding firm. "That's how I felt… Nothing's gonna change that… I… I don't want to go through losing someone like that again… Not you, not Ryder, not Skye… no-one. Ever."

Marshall quickly simmered down. "I… I had no idea…"

"There you go. We all love you too much to say stuff like that about you… And us losing you… Well, I'm not gonna lie… The team probably could've fallen apart over it… We need you, Marshall… **I** need you… One of us dying is just too much for any of us to take..."

"I've gotta get better… I've gotta make sure something like this never happens again… I mean, the thought of you all falling apart because I can't stay on my ladder is just… just-!"

"Hey, any of us would've panicked if a cat blinded us while stood on a ladder! Even me!" Chase interrupted, before sighing. "But you know that we'll help you out. Just like always. We'll be there to make sure you get better. I mean, you helped me get better, too. All you gotta do is say the word."

Marshall only responded by nuzzling Chase and licking his cheek, to which Chase only squeezed him tighter. Chase had thought for the longest time that this kind of moment between the pair of them would never happen again, but now that he could be there for Marshall once more, he was hoping that it never ended. He didn't even care that he was getting sand in his fur once again. The moment of him lying on a tranquil beach with the pup he loved like a brother was an utterly magical one to him.

The two had to be lying on the beach for about five minutes before Chase exhaled through his nose and broke the hug, standing up and turning to the footpath that led to the beach.

"Guys, you know I can smell you, right?"

Suddenly, a faint, annoyed voice came from the footpath.

"Ugh! I TOLD you he'd sniff us out!"

And then, from behind the mounds and trees came the remaining pups, minus Everest and Tracker, who approached the pair lying on the beach, who both quickly stood up.

"Guys?" Marshall asked in surprised confusion. "How did you find us?"

"We used the periscope. Well, I did, anyway." Skye replied. "But more importantly, are you OK? That was some reaction you had back there..."

"I am now..." Marshall sighed. "You can thank Chase for that."

"You sure?" Rocky added. "I haven't seen you get like that since all three of us had nightmares that one time."

"I'm sure. As horrible as it was, I'm OK now."

"What a welief..." Zuma sighed, before turning to Chase. "Chase, why didn't you tell us where you were going? You saw how scawed we all got!"

Chase lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Zuma… But… I thought we'd lost Marshall again… And all because of a nightmare..."

"Do we… even wanna know what kind of nightmare makes someone get like that?" Rubble asked tentatively.

Chase and Marshall shared a look between each other.

"You want me to take this one, buddy?" Chase asked.

"If you don't mind..."

Chase took a breath in. "Alright… Well, apparently..."

Predictably, the pups were just as horrified as Chase was upon hearing about Marshall's nightmare. Chase could only recall one other time when he saw this much collective horror at once. He could tell that all of the pups were itching to shout out and interrupt him.

"...And that's when he woke up." Chase concluded.

"Mawshall! How could you think I'd say something so mean?!" Zuma shouted immediately with tears in his eyes.

Rubble, for his part, had bolted forward and tackled Marshall into one of the tightest hugs he could muster. "THERE'S NO WAY I'D EVER THINK THAT! NOT EVER! WHY WOULD YOU EVER THINK I'D SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" he screamed.

"How many times have I told you, Marshall?! I can't hate you no matter how many times you get me wet!" Rocky yelled, leaping at Marshall and joining in on Rubble's hug. "I'd NEVER want you to die on us just because you got me wet! That's… HORRIBLE!"

"You're wrong, mister!" Skye shouted waveringly. "WRONG! Don't you dare think that we'd want you gone just for being you, you hear me?!"

"GUYS!!" Chase yelled in the most authoritative way he could manage, immediately stopping the racket and drawing all attention to him. "Look, Marshall's nightmare was scary and awful. He knows that. And so do we. Yelling at him's not gonna make anyone feel better. Besides, we all had nightmares, right?"

There was a period of silence as everyone comprehended what Chase had just said. Rubble and Rocky still had yet to let Marshall go, but the dalmatian was listening just as intently, even as he watched their tears dry up.

"Chase… h-how… how did you know that?" Zuma asked falteringly.

"Come on, I've known all of you since we were little!" Chase replied with slight incredulity. "I know what you're all like. All of you looked like you'd seen a ghost. Breathing heavy, wide-eyed, and, heck, that's not counting Marshall waking us up by thrashing around like he was."

Marshall's eyebrows arched, before he looked away in shame, which was greeted by Rubble and Rocky both nuzzling him at once. The spotted pup couldn't keep the soft smile off of his face.

"I… guess you're right..." Skye whispered. "But, Chase, didn't YOU get bad dreams too? Your eyes were redder than normal when you woke up."

Chase was surprised. How could Skye have picked out such a small detail in that darkness? "Guilty..." he replied.

"Huh?" Marshall piped up, getting to his paws. "Chase, you never told me YOU had nightmares, too!"

"No offence, Marshall, but I kind of had more to worry about than that. But… lemme guess, you really wanna know what I dreamed about, right?"

Marshall walked over to Chase. "Not just you. Everyone. Chase, you heard me out already. The least I can do is hear you out, too."

Chase sighed. This was going to be a long night. But then, it was just like Marshall to make a fuss over them when they were feeling bad. He was the team's medic for a reason, after all.

"OK, Marshall… If you really wanna know… I dreamed… about watching you fall in the river again… But this time… everyone was there, and… you were screaming for us to help you… you sounded so scared and- and when the ledge was about to break, you screamed that you hated us… and that we betrayed you…"

Marshall felt like he'd been impaled through the chest. Now he knew how it felt when he told the other pups about the hateful words they'd spewed towards him in his dream.

"After it happened… Everyone turned on me… Beat me up… Screamed at me about being… worthless..." Chase couldn't hide a tear rolling down his cheek. "And then when they were all done… they kicked me into the river, too..."

When Chase had managed to successfully fight back his tears, he noticed Marshall weeping and staring at him with abject horror on his face.

"Oh, Chase!" Marshall sobbed, tackling the shepherd off his feet, wrapping himself around him in a crushing bearhug. "Th-That wasn't true at all! That… There's no way ANYONE would do that to you!"

Marshall's words prompted an outpouring from the rest of the pups.

"No way! Nevew!"

"I'd never do that, Chase!"

"It wasn't your fault at all!"

"Chase, that's awful!"

Marshall continued sobbing. "See, Chase?! SEE?! There's no way they'd do that to you! And-and I didn't think you'd b-betrayed me at all! IT! WASN'T! YOUR! FAULT!"

"Heh, heh… OK, OK, firecracker..." Chase whispered. "I get it, already..."

But even Chase couldn't help but notice that he had yet more tears rolling down his face. But these, once more, weren't tears of sadness at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Marshall really hadn't changed. Kicking up an emotional fuss the moment he heard that something was wrong with his friends. Slowly, Marshall calmed back down enough to clamber off of Chase.

"Err, uhh… S-Sorry about that." Marshall stammered.

"Heh…" Chase chuckled, before licking Marshall's cheek, only to recoil. "BLEGH-! Urgh-! Salty...!"

The whiplash was intense enough to cause the pups to default to deep belly laughs, Marshall included. Even Chase couldn't stop himself from laughing once he'd finished shivering in disgust.

"OK, OK..." Marshall whispered after he'd finished laughing. "What about the rest of you?"

And just like that, the atmosphere shifted downwards yet again, as all of the pups looked downwards at their paws.

"I guess I'll start us off..." Skye began quietly. "I... dreamed about your funeral… And that I had to give a speech… But I didn't get a few seconds in before the town turned on me… The last thing I remember is an angry mob closing in on me… And… the rest of you weren't anywhere to be found."

"I… kinda dreamed of the same thing…" Rubble piped up. "Only… Marshall… climbed out of a coffin as a zombie… And… I had to watch him… Tear everyone apart… I only woke up when he was about to rip my throat out..."

"And I dweamed about twying to save you..." Zuma added. "Only my hovercwaft… Well, it didn't exactly handle the wiver well… You kept scweaming… and scweaming, begging me to help you… But I only woke up when my hovercwaft tipped ovew when it hit a wock..."

Marshall whined. "Oh, man… This is all… worse than I thought… But how come the rest of you don't seem all that bothered by your dreams?"

"Like Chase said, we kinda had more to worry about than that." Rocky replied. "I mean, I dreamed that I was in the river with you… I tried to keep you with me, but then we ended up getting separated when the river forked in two… it was really scary, but when you ran out, honestly I was more scared of losing you again. But then again, you've actually lived your dream."

Marshall couldn't deny Rocky's logic. Nor could Chase, even though he'd been having the same dream the entire time that Marshall had been gone. It only stopped after Marshall had come back. But he had to wonder why they slept so well the night before, but not tonight. Chase could only theorise that the stress of hearing about Ryder not getting any better had made them all feel bad enough to suffer bad dreams again.

"Well..." Chase finally piped up. "It doesn't really matter anymore. They were all just bad dreams. And we all know that. We've got nothing to worry about. Plus, I don't know about all of you, but I'm happy I got all that off my chest."

Nobody replied other than moving in for a group hug with him and Marshall, which the two pups readily accepted. Chase was right. They were nothing more than bad dreams to be discarded and forgotten. Because the reality was far sweeter. Marshall was back with them, and they no longer had anything to fear.

Except for perhaps one thing.

"Guys?" Marshall piped up after a few minutes. "There's still one thing that's bugging me."

"It's Ryder, isn't it?" Chase guessed.

"Yep. I mean, if we had bad dreams like that, how do you think Ryder's doing?"

"Marshall, wait." Skye interjected. "I'm not so sure talking to Ryder's a good idea right now… You heard what Jake said, right? There's a chance that if we don't talk to him, we'll just make things worse..."

"No." Chase replied sharply. "Ryder needs his family. He's shut himself off for too long, now."

"The only thing that's gonna make it worse is if we just sit around doing nothing!" Marshall declared. "He's been a mess from the word 'Go'! He's gonna talk, even if we've gotta make him!"

"But how, guys?" Rocky asked. "He's had his door locked all day! The last time I tried to talk to him, he just screamed at me!"

"Maybe it'll be a little better now that Marshall's back with us?" Rubble countered hopefully.

"Maybe he's not even asleep!" Zuma added. "Maybe he actually WANTS to talk to us!"

"That's pushing it a little, Zuma..." Skye added uncertainly. "I'll go with you guys… But I'm still not sure about this..."

"There's nothing to be sure about, Skye." Chase replied. "But I'm not gonna sit on my butt and do nothing anymore! I've been in my shell for too long now!"

"Then let's go!" Marshall declared. "But er… Chase, could you… gimme a ride back to the Lookout, please?"

Chase turned around and beamed at the speckled pup, punctuating his words with a military salute. "Chase is on the case!"

As Chase drove Marshall back to the Lookout, with the other pups in their own vehicles, minus Skye, who had hitched a ride with Rocky, tailing him, he couldn't help but wonder about something as he tapped his Pup Tag, opening a line to Skye.

"What's up, Chase?" Skye asked.

"I'm a little curious, Skye." Chase replied. "Where are Everest and Tracker? I didn't see them at all. I didn't even smell them."

"Well, they said they were gonna stay out of it. Said it was something for us to handle?"

"I thought we told them that 'us' means them, too?"

"They just said that they needed their own owners tonight after what happened."

Chase grumbled. Evidently, Skye's speech hadn't quite landed the way she'd hoped. Or the way any of them had hoped, for that matter.

"I guess we all need each other tonight." he concluded.

"Guess so." she replied.

The trip back to the Lookout was completed in silence the rest of the way, with none of the pups daring to say anything to each other. All that was on their minds at that point was Ryder, even as they passed Jake and Carlos' tents, which Everest and Tracker were no doubt sleeping in, with Jake and Carlos somehow not noticing Marshall running away in panic. As the pups boarded the elevator to take them up to Ryder, the atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife. But the pups never noticed that Rocky had put his gear on until they were partway to Ryder's door.

"Huh? Rocky?" Skye whispered. "Why are you wearing your gear?"

"In case Ryder has the door locked." Rocky replied quietly. "Desperate times, desperate measures. Besides, I'd probably get sent to get my gear if the door was lo-"

"Guys. Shh." Chase interrupted. "You hear that?"

The pups immediately fell quiet and listened. They had just arrived outside of Ryder's door, but his voice was unmistakable. Even though Ryder was being too quiet and muffled to make out, Chase still managed to pick up on his emotions.

"He sounds… stressed." Marshall whispered.

"He's gotta be having a nightmawe, wight?" Zuma asked.

"It's gotta be." Rubble replied. "I can't really hear him, but he sounds… scared."

"Oh, crud..." Skye hissed. "Rocky, get this door open, now!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Rocky replied, deciding to check the dog door first, pushing against it with his paws, only to be surprised when it moved with barely any effort on his part.

"Hey! It's not locked!"

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Chase hissed. "Move it, pups!"

Everyone was quick to act on Chase's order, hopping through the dog door to Ryder's room one by one. And now, Ryder's voice was crystal clear. As was the utter terror in it.

"Urgh… Urgh-! Marshall-! No…!"

Marshall froze up. "Wait, what did I do?!" he hissed.

"I think Ryder's talking in his sleep." Chase replied. "Someone get the light?"

"I'll do it." Rocky whispered. "Claw arm. Arf."

Rocky moved towards the lamp on Ryder's bedside table and barked out his claw arm as quietly as he could, happy that his Pup Pack was of some use after all. But when the light illuminated most of the room and Ryder's face along with it, the pups very quickly wished that Chase hadn't asked Rocky to turn the light on.

Ryder, to put it lightly, was not relaxed at all. It was plain to see that he was asleep, but his eyes were screwed up tightly, and he was breathing incredibly rapidly. Far more rapidly than was normal. The boy's forehead was utterly drenched with sweat and he was thrashing around where he lay. It went without saying to the pups. Their owner was locked in a horrific nightmare.

"Don't… go! Please-! Don't… leave me-!"

Marshall wanted to cry again at seeing the obvious pain his owner was in. He thought his nightmare was bad, if predictable. But Ryder's was even more so. And Marshall didn't need to wake the boy to know that.

"Oh, man..." Marshall whined. "What do we do?"

"No-!" Ryder whispered fearfully, still asleep. "Marshall-! Don't… die! I… can't go on… without you!"

"We've gotta wake him!" Marshall continued.

"Wait." Chase instructed, as much as it pained him to do so. "Before we do that, we've gotta get something. Rocky?"

"I'll make it fast." Rocky replied, turning and bolting out of the room.

"Huh? Where's Rocky going?" Skye asked.

"Ryder always said a glass of warm milk helps him sleep. Helps calm him down." Chase explained. "I just hope he makes it quick..."

The pups all turned back to Ryder.

"How…? How could I… I've… I've failed you, Marshall… I've failed… everyone..."

"Chase, it's getting REALLY hard to hold back right now..." Marshall said quietly.

"C'mon, Rocky..." Chase whispered.

"Pups… No-! Please! I-I… tried! I'm so sorry-!" Ryder whimpered in his sleep.

It was like a car wreck. Horrible and stomach-churning to watch, but impossible to look away from. Chase was looking noticeably queasy as he watched Ryder thrash around.

"Pups! Please-! Don't-! Don't do this!"

"Do what?!" Zuma demanded under his breath.

"We're not… hurting him… are we?" Chase asked distantly.

"M-Marshall-?"

"'Marshall'?" Rubble echoed quietly. "What's he talking about?"

"But I'm… already… dead… in his dream… right?" Marshall asked falteringly, slowly putting two and two together.

"Marshall… no… no, no, no..."

"What are you thinking, Marshall?" Chase asked, seeing the terrified look on his brother-figure's face.

"I think… I might be… about to come back from the dead in Ryder's dream..."

"Huh?" Skye said in confusion. "But isn't that a good thing?"

Surprisingly, both Rubble and Marshall turned to look at her.

"Err… no." they both replied in unison.

"Marshall-?! Wh-wha-?! What's going-?! No! Please!" Ryder babbled in terror.

"That's it!" Marshall declared, storming forward. "I'm waking him and I'm waking him NOW!"

Marshall quickly hopped up onto Ryder's bed.

"I'm so sorry-!" Ryder cried in his sleep. "P-Please-! I tried to…!"

"Ryder!" Marshall hissed, shaking the boy's head with his paws. "Snap out of it! You're having a nightmare!"

"G-Get away-! P-Please-! D-Don't hurt me-!"

"Ryder! C'mon!" Marshall intensified his shaking. "It's just a bad dream! Wake up!"

"Marshall-!" Ryder started thrashing even more violently. "Please don't kill me-!"

"RYDER!! WAKE UP!!!" Marshall screamed at the top of his voice.

Finally, Ryder's eyes flicked open, and perhaps not unexpectedly, Ryder began screaming, jolting Marshall off of the bed as he thrashed around in terror while screaming his head off. A sight the pups had to watch for fifteen seconds before he started to calm down even slightly. Slowly, Ryder's terrified screaming ebbed away, until finally it was replaced with extremely rapid, shallow breaths, leaving the boy a hyperventilating, frightened mess.

The pups stared on, enraptured in the worst way. Even Marshall stared up at Ryder, feeling like crying himself. Not once had he ever seen Ryder in such a state. But internally, Marshall knew he was right. Ryder needed his family. Marshall just didn't think he needed them that badly. Steeling himself, Marshall jumped back onto Ryder's bed after watching him sit up in bed.

Marshall had a feeling that his presence would be met with terror. And Ryder gasping as Marshall appeared in his cone of vision confirmed it. His breathing had completely stopped as Marshall slowly drew near with a look of sympathy on his face.

"M-M-M… M-M-Mar… M-Marshall-?" Ryder stuttered in fright. "I-I… Wh- I… B-But-"

The boy found himself getting cut off as Marshall gently placed a paw over Ryder's mouth for a few seconds. As Marshall took his paw away, he moved up even closer to Ryder before pushing himself up onto his hind legs and draping his arms over Ryder's shoulders, squeezing him as tightly as he could manage.

In that moment, the boy seemed to shut down altogether, staring ahead with the same terrified expression on his face. But it only took a few seconds before Ryder swiftly threw his arms around his pup, clinging to him for dear life and shaking all the while, still not losing his expression of raw, wide-eyed fear, even letting the odd tear of terror slip down his face.

The sight was heartbreaking for the remainder of the pups. It was truly astounding as to how much Ryder looked his age in that moment. He'd always been a brave, friendly and surprisingly-mature child. But a moment such as this served to remind them all that Ryder was just that: a child. A child with fears, weaknesses and doubts all his own. A child who had never looked quite as scared and vulnerable as he did now. And a child who hadn't received nearly as much attention as he so obviously needed. But Marshall hugging him while gently licking his cheek was a good start. A reminder that Ryder held a special place in all of their hearts. Just as all of them held a special place in his.

The pups, sans Marshall, were all then distracted by a noise coming from behind them. They turned to see Rocky's claw arm holding a glass of milk slowly extending through the door, followed by the mixed breed gingerly stepping through the dog door. But when Rocky finally registered what was going on, he couldn't stop himself from whimpering at the sight. He practically glided across the floor towards Ryder's bed, stopping when he reached the side.

"Ryder, it's OK…" Rocky said soothingly. "Here… this is for you..."

The pup's claw arm extended up towards Ryder, still holding the glass of milk. With both hands, Ryder slowly extended his shaking hands towards the warm glass, gingerly taking it and slowly moving it towards his lips, obviously still as frightened as ever, with Marshall not letting go of him for so much as a second.

Slowly, the liquid in the glass disappeared as Ryder drank it all. Until finally, it was all gone. Ryder seemed slightly more relaxed, but was otherwise as scared as ever. His eyes weren't quite as wide as before, and his shaking had slowed down, but both were still there as he wrapped his arms back around the dalmatian in front of him. Ryder was clearly still too frightened to speak a word, even as Rocky gently took the empty glass from him and set it down in the corner of his room.

Rocky quickly detached his Pup Pack and disrobed, removing his vest and cap before moving over to Ryder's bed, hopping up to it and lying down next to Marshall. Soon, Ryder's breathing began to slow to a more reasonable pace. Now it was clear that Ryder was relaxing more than before. And the rest of the pups, watching from the sidelines, took this as their cue to join Marshall and Rocky.

Everyone quickly trotted to Ryder's bed and jumped up on it, moving as close as they could manage to the boy and snuggling close to him. And Ryder, feeling more tired and at ease than he was before, fell back down into bed, landing with his head on the pillow and falling asleep once more, still not letting go of Marshall. And one by one, the pups followed, all falling asleep with him as the clock hit 1:00AM, exhausted from the long, harrowing night that they shared.

The stresses of the day had been phenomenal. From Marshall getting over his newfound hydrophobia, to Chase and Skye finally making amends, to finally getting to see their owner for the first time in a long time only to see him in a terrified stupor. The progress towards healing from Marshall's accident was sadly slow.

But as far as the pups were all concerned, any progress was good progress.


	20. Another Day, Another Doldrum

Another afternoon wake-up. As much as most of the Paw Patrol prided themselves on being fairly punctual wakers, they could probably be forgiven for sleeping in so late after such an emotionally-harrowing few days. At least, that's how Marshall chose to view it as he made out Ryder's alarm clock, now reading 1:37PM.

The first thing Marshall noticed was that Ryder was still fast asleep with the other three pups.

"(Wait. Three?)" Marshall thought drowsily.

Willing his brain into action to perform a quick headcount, he quickly came to the conclusion that Rocky, Zuma and Rubble remained cuddled up next to Ryder, still deep in Dreamland, with Chase and Skye mysteriously being absent altogether. Now that he was wondering where in the world they could've gone, there was no way he'd settle back down. He knew that he'd have to get up and look for them to slake his burning curiosity, but even though a small part of him wanted to, he couldn't leave Ryder.

Especially not when Ryder was currently hugging him for dear life in his sleep. Marshall was just grateful that he was able to turn himself to the side to avoid suffocating.

On the Lookout's ground floor, Chase had managed to rouse himself enough to go downstairs somewhat earlier than everyone else. But instead of finding anything to do, Chase was too busy ambling around aimlessly, wondering what in the world to do. It was clear to him that Ryder, his ever-fearless and kind leader, wasn't just upset – he was downright traumatised. Not even Marshall, Rocky or himself had suffered nightmares as intense as Ryder's most likely was.

How long had he even been suffering? How badly had he damaged his body by shutting himself off and refusing to eat or socialise? Chase was feeling terrible. He felt even more like he should've been able to be there for his family, and yet he'd tucked into his shell just like Ryder had.

"(Like owner, like pet...)" Chase thought ruefully.

But then, something told Chase that losing his baby brother wasn't going to be something that he forgot easily. Like he'd said, he had no idea how much he truly feared his greatest nightmare until it had actually come true. Chase settled on the floor just in front of the door to the Lookout to stare out at the grey, rainy sky. His thoughts began to drift to the alternate reality where Marshall had truly died and never returned. But these thoughts were short-lived as the sound of the elevator behind him sent him into a more-apprehensive state.

"Trouble sleeping?" a familiar female voice asked behind him.

Chase sighed, without turning around. "You know me too well..."

Skye padded up next to Chase before sitting down next to him.

"Skye… will we ever be happy again?" Chase asked, his head still lowered.

Skye sighed. "We can't keep moping forever, Chase… Though, that's easier to say since Marshall came back."

"Try telling that to Ryder… he's worse than I thought… way worse."

Skye leaned her head on Chase's shoulder, who closed his eyes and leaned closer to Skye in turn.

"Me too." Skye whispered. "I mean, I guess it hit all of us pretty hard… him, most of all. I mean, Ryder's kind of like our dad in a lot of ways, right? Imagine how it feels for a dad to see his kid die right in front of him… I'd bet good treats that that's close to how Ryder feels about the whole thing."

"Not just him, though… losing you guys… scares me worse than anything… I was scared of the dentist, once… But that's nothing compared to my brother dying..." Chase had his eyes squeezed shut, desperately trying to fight back tears.

"You say that like you're alone… I'd take all the eagles in the world over going through that again..."

"Well, I kind of was alone! I locked myself away when everyone needed me! You, Ryder… everyone! And I hurt you! I hurt you when you needed me, who's to say I didn't do the same to Ryder?!"

For a moment, Skye paused, struggling to come up with a way to counter Chase's self-deprecation. Clearly, the shepherd hadn't stopped beating himself up over what had happened a few days ago.

"Chase..." Skye began. "You can't change what's happened. If I could do that, I'd make it so Marshall never fell into the river to begin with… But I just can't do that…"

"I know..."

"So you can't keep living in the past. Especially not since Marshall's back now. So the best thing for you to do is to learn from your mistakes. Heck, we've already buried the hatchet, right? So you're on your way. And all we can do for Ryder is take care of him. I've been slacking there too, y'know?"

"But… can we? You saw how he was last night… I don't know if we're even up to the task..."

"Up to the task or not, we can't just sit around and wait for things to get better anymore… We're his pups, right? He's always taken care of us, heard us out when we're feeling bad, made a fuss when we get hurt… The least we can do now is to return the favor."

Skye turned around to look Chase in the eye, who now looked at least slightly calmer.

"So to answer your question: We'll only be happy again if we fight to make it that way."

For a moment, there was silence and stillness. Until the moment that Chase smiled slightly.

"You know? You're right, Skye." Chase replied warmly. "I've spent too long tucked away in my Pup House. But… no more. We WILL be happy again. I'll make sure of it, myself."

Skye burst into a huge grin. "Hey, there's the old Chase! We've missed you!"

And just like that, Chase couldn't keep from laughing. "Honestly? It feels great to be back."

Skye soon calmed down, only to adopt a serious expression. "But you better make good on your words, you hear?" She jabbed a paw in Chase's direction. "You start moping about this again, and I'll stick you in my helicopter's harness and fly your sorry butt through the clouds, mister!"

"I'll hold you to that." Chase replied with a smirk.

Skye leaned in and nuzzled the shepherd, to which he quickly returned the favour. Chase, for a split second, kicked himself even harder. How could he have shut himself off when he had a family who he could depend on so? Chase had faced down a lot. And with Marshall back with them, Chase could face down this period of darkness, too. For a while, Chase and Skye leaned against each other in a state of contentment. Oddly, the rain had gone from feeling depressing to feeling soothing, until Skye spoke up again.

"You know… I wonder if everyone's still asleep up there?"

"Maybe." Chase replied. "This is gonna wreck our sleep patterns..."

"Don't act like we don't need the rest, though."

"I never said that. But maybe we should go wake them. We don't want anyone coming down and thinking we were kissing or something."

Skye smirked wickedly. "Awww… You feewing wonwey, Chase?" she cooed. "All you had to do was say!"

The cockapoo quickly jumped at Chase, who quickly realised what Skye was attempting to do, moving to push her away while she made kissy faces at him. A task not made any easier by her pressing a paw into his sensitive belly.

"AH-! Hey-! Hee hee hee! Get off me! Skye! Qu-Quit it!" Chase giggled, grinning widely as he attempted to push her away.

"I'm warning you, Chase! I'm known for my pup cooties!" Skye cautioned with an evil grin.

"You really want my germs that badly, huh?!" Chase barked back, quickly reversing the roles and pushing Skye to the ground, making false attempts at kissing her.

"Ack-! Hee hee! Chase-! Hee hee hee! G-Get away! B-Back off! Hee hee!" Skye squealed helplessly, as Chase dug a paw into her stomach and pushed his face close with Skye trying to push him off.

"Hey, now..."

The two pups froze immediately. Almost as if someone had pressed the pause button. For the voice that stopped the two's playing was one that they didn't know that they didn't want to hear until now. Praying that their ears deceived them, the two separated and looked to the source of the voice. Their worst fears were confirmed when it turned out to belong to a dalmatian with the face of someone who had just been exposed to the fruits of Cap'n Turbot's fishing journeys; their voices evidently drowning out the sounds of the elevator.

"...what… are… you… guys… doing?"

"M-Marshall-!" Skye spluttered, standing bolt upright. "Wh-wh-where did you come from?!"

"Marshall, whatever you're thinking, it's totally NOT that!" Chase shouted quickly, with eyes the size of dinner plates.

"...Don't tell me… You two… You were… actually..." Marshall replied disgustedly, clearly choking on his own sentence.

"Marshall, it's not what it looks like-!" Skye stammered.

"Y-You're getting the wrong idea!" Chase babbled.

Marshall's eyebrows slowly furrowed into a glare. "Y-You… You… YOU-!" He quickly stomped his paws into the ground, directing a look of horrified, repulsed anger at Chase. "YOU DIRTY, ROTTEN MUTT!! YOU GUYS ARE UNDERAGE!"

Marshall's accusation seemed to awaken something in Chase. Something that caused his face to go a brilliant shade of crimson underneath his fur. Something that caused him bolt up, run over to Marshall and aggressively press his head against the dalmatian's.

"EXCUSE YOU?!" Chase bellowed. "THIS FROM THE PUP WHO SPENDS HIS TIME HANGING AROUND EVEREST?!"

"DON'T YOU BRING HER INTO THIS, YOU LITTLE FLEABAG!" Marshall roared back. "YOU TWO WERE KISSING!"

"NO WE WEREN'T! GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER! DON'T YOU KNOW PLAYING WHEN YOU SEE IT?!"

"OH, PFF, YEAH, SURE, 'PLAYING'! YOU TWO'VE GOT A FUNNY IDEA OF THAT!"

"I DON'T LIKE SKYE THAT WAY! THAT'S JUST WRONG! LIKE YOU!"

"OH, SO YOU CAN DISH IT OUT, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE IT?!"

Skye couldn't contain herself. The sight of her brothers getting into a childish argument caused her to seize up and fall over laughing her head off, curling into a ball of hysterical cackling on the ground. The lull in Chase and Marshall's argument caused them both to register Skye's laughter. Both pups whipped around with glares on their faces.

"WHAT?!" they both snapped.

"Y-you-! You guys…! You…! You're both… both ridiculous!" Skye guffawed, mirthful tears streaming down her face. "Ar- Ar… Arguing like… just like you used to over… over silly stuff like that-!"

Slowly, the aggression melted away from the two pups. Skye was right. They were arguing like they used to. Arguing over the most trivial of things that always ended in the two laughing and playfully punching each other's arms. Just as brothers would. Marshall quickly found himself giggling, which upgraded into being paralysed with laughter as he dropped to the floor in hysterics. He was soon joined by Chase, who only barely managed to stay on his feet from laughing so hard.

"Oh, for-!" Marshall shouted through his laughter. "Wh-What is wrong with us-?!"

"Hey-!" Chase yelled back, still laughing himself. "You're the one who came down and started yelling! Don't drag me into this!"

"Th-Then why were you trying to kiss her-?!"

"She started it!"

"Wha-?!" Skye barked through her laughter. "No I didn't-! You shouldn't have given me ideas!"

"So you admit it WAS your idea-!" Chase laughed even louder.

"Only because of you!" Skye howled.

The pups were far more than simple colleagues. Having been working and living together for so long, they'd become more of a close-knit group of siblings. A fact that all of them were reminded of as they all laughed until they grew lightheaded and slowly calmed down, finally being able to wipe the mirthful tears from their eyes.

"...just like old times, right?" Skye whispered.

"Sure is..." Chase wheezed. "Maybe things are going back to normal faster than I thought?"

"Huh?" Marshall asked. "What do you mean?"

"I wondered if we were ever gonna be happy again." Chase replied. "But with stuff like this happening, maybe we will..."

Marshall paused to think about Chase's words. It wasn't long ago that he'd asked the same question after all.

"Hey… You're right!" Marshall declared. "I mean, you're back on track with Skye, you've both stopped moping, and I had a great time with the other pups yesterday!"

"Easy, Marshall." Skye cautioned. "We're back on track, but it's gonna take more than a couple days to get over losing one of us."

"But the fact that we're on the right track in the first place means something, right?" Chase asked.

"Yep! 'Sides… patching things up with your girlfriend is a good start." Marshall sneered.

If Chase's face wasn't covered in fur, it would have been easy to be able to see it turn as red as a traffic light.

"...THAT'S IT! YOU'RE HISTORY, BUCKO!!" Chase roared, practically having steam clouds of pure embarrassment fizzing from his ears.

He charged forward so quickly that you could believe that he'd gotten his superpowers back. Seeing this coming, Marshall shrieked and bolted to the other end of the room, before circling around to the door and zipping out past Skye, who'd thrown herself onto her back howling with laughter again. Even then, however, she could still clearly hear the two pups locked in a high-speed chase in the rain.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Chase yelled.

"Away from you!" Marshall shouted, continuing to laugh.

"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!"

"What law?!"

"THE LAW OF THE CHEEKY DALMATIAN!!"

The pups had to have been running around the rainy Lookout for at least three minutes arguing all the while before they were stopped by a thoroughly unimpressed-looking Jake and Carlos, having been woken up from their sleep. At least Tracker and Everest found the whole thing amusing. As did the other pups when they finally came down to see what all of the shouting was about.

But perhaps the most shocking thing about it is that they were joined by Ryder, who still looked thoroughly beaten-down. But even he was giggling at the sight of Jake and Carlos scolding Marshall and Chase over running around yelling in the rain. Though after Jake and Carlos had finished reprimanding the rowdy pups, they quickly moved over to Ryder, who, much to their shock, was at least slightly willing to talk. He was still quiet and sad, but less so than yesterday. After the two took him to the kitchen to get some food and refill the pups' bowls, all three of them disappeared up the elevator.

"Dudes, you two got SO busted!" Zuma observed, looking at the two soaked pups with embarrassed grins while holding back his laughter.

"He started it!" Marshall and Chase shot back simultaneously, pointing at each other with their paws.

"It doesn't matter who started it, as long you keep those wet coats far away from me!" Rocky replied.

Skye burst out laughing again, coughing from the strain on her body. "P-P-Please, guys-!" she choked. "S-Stop already…! I-I've got nothing left…!"

Rubble giggled. "You know? This all feels so… normal."

"'Normal'?" Everest asked, looking at the bulldog with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, it feels like nothing ever changed. Chase and Marshall arguing about silly junk? Skye being happy and talking to Chase again? It… feels like everything went back to normal all of a sudden..."

Nobody seemed sure of how to reply until Tracker spoke up.

"I guess it kind of has, amigo. And hey, maybe that's a good thing. We're not gonna forget losing Marshall, that much is true. But he's home and dry now, and we can have fun with him again just like before, verdad?"

"I agree with Tracker." Chase replied. "Apart from one thing, things kind of HAVE gone back to normal. And I don't know about all of you, but I couldn't be happier about that."

The remaining pups all nodded to each other, making scattered noises of agreement. It was true that none of them wanted the last few days of mourning and despair to have happened in the first place, but Tracker had a point. If they had Marshall back, then things could go back to normal, and they could all have fun again. But despite this, thoughts of the traumatised Ryder still lingered at the backs of their minds.

"So, er… What now?" Skye asked, looking around, realising that going out would be out of the question in this rain.

Everyone fell silent, realising that none of them had any plans for the day and that crowding Ryder wouldn't be in anyone's best interests. Until Marshall suddenly perked up.

"Hey! I know something we could do!" he cried. "But first, ah… We've got towels, right?"

"I think we keep 'em in storage..." Rocky replied.

"Any idea where?" Chase asked.

"Even if I did, there's no way I'm gonna find out if it means going anywhere near a pair of soggy pups!"

The two pups rolled their eyes and grumbled as the room erupted in giggling from everyone except them and Rocky.

It took a little while, but eventually, the two had managed to find a pair of towels in the Lookout's storage cabinets built into the walls and dry themselves off as best they could, getting mostly dry after shaking the remainder of the water from their fur.

"So what did you have in mind, Marshall?" Chase asked.

"Simple." he replied. "Remember when I got sick and couldn't get out of bed?"

Chase was able to piece together what Marshall meant when he saw him move over to where their books were kept. "You wanna go through some albums?"

"Yup!" Marshall carefully studied the spines of the books. "I always feel better after looking over our good times! Plus, even if we could play outside, would you really wanna play pupball or something?"

"NO THANK YOU, WAY TOO DANGEROUS!!" Rocky shouted, much to everyone's shock.

"See? I'm right." Marshall replied dryly.

"Well, what did you expect?" Skye asked. "Anything where you might get hurt again is out of the question!"

Marshall didn't bother answering. He simply grabbed a pair of books out of the cabinet. The burgundy-bound books both had a different title in golden writing.

"HUMBLE BEGINNINGS"

"SILLY PUPS"

"Aw, no..." Chase groaned. "You really got THAT one?" gesturing to the thicker "SILLY PUPS" album with a smile.

"What?" Marshall replied in confusion. "It's gonna show the rest of us, too!"

"But it's embarrassing!" Chase whined.

"Hey, I'm due for being embarrassed too, you know! And so's everyone else!"

Marshall began moving towards the rest of the pups with the two books.

"This is gonna be good!" Everest said excitedly. "We'll get to see how the Paw Patrol started out!"

"And how silly we can get..." Skye added, cringing.

"You mean, mowe than we usually are?" Zuma asked.

"OK, settle down, guys." Chase instructed. "There's more than enough embarrassment to go around."

Without further ado, Marshall waited for the other pups to finish crowding around him before pulling the "HUMBLE BEGINNINGS" album off of the stack and laying it down in the middle of them.

"If I've got this right..." Marshall began, pulling the book open with his paw. "...then… Yup! I thought this would be the first thing we saw!"

The photo that greeted the group was of a far-smaller trio of Ryder, Chase and Marshall, with all three giving grins of confidence and happiness.

"Aww!" Everest cooed. "This was how it all started?"

"Sure was!" Chase replied. "Look how pudgy I was!"

"Oh, that's just puppy fat, amigo." Tracker replied. "I had it too, long ago. But you were all so… small… It's a little hard to believe that's you."

"Hey, when we first saw it, we didn't believe it either!" Rocky added.

"I mean, they were already a little bigger than that when I joined the team." Skye said. "I think they'd been together about a year by then."

"And everyone already had a growth spurt when I joined them." Rubble said. "I didn't get bigger until after everyone else. Even Zuma!"

"We all gwow diffewently, dude." Zuma reassured the bulldog. "It's a little surpwising I gwew so fast, actually."

Marshall turned over the page to see two different photos. One was of Chase directing a flock of ducks towards a pond, with Ryder looking on in pride. The other was of Marshall laying back in his firetruck with Chickaletta resting on his belly, giving the chicken a hug with Ryder giving a happy grin in the background.

"Hey! Our first rescues!" Chase cried.

"Still haven't got the hang of that ladder, though!" Marshall retorted, to giggling from the whole group.

"Wow, you've been doing this since you were THAT little?" Tracker asked.

"Yep, and it didn't go as well as you can see." Chase replied. "These photos leave out Marshall's first two tries. His butt was as red as a tomato by the end!"

All of the pups save for Marshall burst out laughing.

"Says you!" Marshall shot back. "Who was it who tried to catch a wandering duckling only to net Farmer Al? And then net himself?"

The pups laughed again, with the exception of Chase. "Darn, I was hoping you'd forgotten that..." he muttered audibly.

"So you two had a lot to get the hang of back then." Everest observed.

"Yeah, but it was more play, less work back then, right?" Skye asked.

"You got it." Chase replied. "We started getting more calls as pups joined, though. And as we got older."

"Makes sense, I mean, we knew how to handle more stuff as time went on." Zuma observed.

"We've all come a long way, huh?" Rubble asked.

"We sure have. We've taken on much bigger stuff lately, after all." Rocky replied.

Marshall wordlessly turned the page when everyone had finished talking, only for the next sight to surprise most of them. The next sight was of Ryder sat cross-legged in City Hall with an empty bottle next to him, the boy flanked by Marshall and Chase, with all of them looking in adoration at a tiny, brown-furred, sleepy-eyed bundle in Ryder's arms.

"Awwwwww!" Skye cried. "Baby Zuma!"

"Ah, jeez..." Zuma muttered, covering his eyes with his paw.

"No need to be embarrassed, Zuma!" Marshall reassured. "You were cute!"

"I-I can't..." Zuma stammered, his cheeks beginning to burn.

"There's nothing wrong with us taking care of you, man!" Chase added. "If we hadn't, you wouldn't be with us!"

"And I wouldn't have had the chance to meet you!" Rocky chimed in. "Our little choco-bowling-ball!"

Zuma looked straight at Rocky with an offended look. "Hey! My head's not THAT wound!"

"Choco-bowling-ball!" Rocky cooed.

"GWAAAAAGH!!" Zuma swiftly pounced on Rocky, pushing the laughing mixed breed onto his back.

"You grew up so quick, Zuma!" Rubble said as everyone laughed.

Everest, however, was noticeably perplexed. "Guys, I don't get it." she cut in. "You always said that Skye joined after you guys. Did Zuma join before that? If that's right, why's he #7?"

"Well, that's a good question." Chase replied. "We weren't lying. But who do you think we MET after the Paw Patrol started?"

"...estoy confundido. I'm confused." Tracker piped up. "You met Skye next and she joined the Paw Patrol, didn't she?"

Marshall looked Tracker in the eyes and shook his head, slowly pointing a paw towards Zuma, who looked down at the floor, grinning in embarrassment.

"We said that Skye JOINED the Paw Patrol after Marshall did." Chase explained. "We never said that she was the first pup we MET."

"How does that work?" Everest asked. "You met Zuma before Skye, but he didn't join until way later?"

"That's the one." Marshall replied.

"I didn't actually join until after Wocky did." Zuma explained. "But even though Wyder's been taking care of Chase and Mawshall since they were weally little, he's been taking care of me ever since I was litewally a baby. Wubble's highew up than me 'cause he took to his wole weally quick. At the time, I was still getting my sea legs."

"Heh, someone's been hanging around Cap'n Turbot!" Marshall teased.

"Oh, shush." Zuma shot back with an amused smirk.

"I still remember it like it was yesterday, honestly." Chase said. "And it wasn't even us who rescued Zuma!"


	21. Intermission: Time and Tide

_It was a standard morning in Adventure Bay in years past, six months after a then five-year old Ryder founded the Paw Patrol, following his German Shepherd pup meeting an energetic dalmatian with a heart of gold. The sun was just barely dragging itself over the horizon when Mayor Goodway had called Ryder, who himself had just managed to drag himself out of bed._

" _Uuuuurrrgghh… Ryder here..." Ryder groaned mid-yawn._

" _Oh, Ryder! I'm so sorry to drag you out of bed!" Mayor Goodway said apologetically as the sleepy, exhausted-looking five-year old came into focus on her end of the screen. "A boy like you shouldn't be woken up at 6AM like this!"_

" _Mayor Goodwaaaaaaayy..." Ryder whined in embarrassment._

" _Oh, right! I'm sorry!"_

" _Urgh… no, it's nothing… Something wrong?"_

" _Yes! Quite wrong! Someone, er..." The air was very quickly let out from Mayor Goodway's balloon. "I must admit… I don't know if you'll believe me if I tell you this..."_

" _Wh-What? It can't be THAT weird."_

" _Well, someone left a box on my doorstep a few minutes ago… And in it, well..."_

" _Oh, no. It wasn't anything dangerous?!"_

" _No, no! Quite the opposite, my boy! It's er… it was a… it was a pup."_

_Ryder blinked, falling silent for a few seconds. "A… pup?"_

" _I KNEW you wouldn't believe me!" Mayor Goodway complained. "It's such a small pup! It can't be any more than a few weeks old!"_

" _Where is it?"_

" _I've brought it into my office. I really don't know what to do…" she began. "I don't have any idea who the owner is… assuming it even HAS one..."_

" _Oh, no..." Ryder whispered sympathetically. "Don't worry, we'll be right over! No job is too big, no pup is too small!"_

_Hanging up the call, Ryder was slightly amazed at how quickly the news had woken him up. And Mayor Goodway was right: it was hard to believe. Quickly tossing his Pup Pad onto the safety of his bed, Ryder got dressed as quickly as he could, leaving out his shoes and socks before calling the two pups._

" _Chase! Marshall! To the Lookout!"_

_The boy's words had just about managed to stir the two tiny pups from their deep sleep._

" _Bwuuuugghhh… Gh-ghurrrrgghhh…?" The two slurred, wondering if they were dreaming as they made their way into the Lookout in a sleep-drunk stupor. Chase had barely managed to stay upright as he'd gotten into the Lookout, sitting down on the floor as Marshall came up behind him with his eyes open a crack, stumbling straight towards Chase, who was surprised at how quickly the incoming spotted train had woken him up._

" _Marshall, look out!" Chase cried._

" _Bllllrrrrrggghhhh…?" Marshall mumbled, before plowing straight into Chase, knocking the shepherd onto his back._

_Chase stared bewilderingly at the sleepy dalmatian who now had his head resting on Chase's belly. It seemed that nothing could wake him properly, especially as he let out a yawn instead of a dumb joke. Chase, not knowing what to say, quietly patted Marshall's head as the doors closed and the elevator ascended._

_Marshall slowly dragged himself after Chase as the shepherd bounded into place when the elevator reached its apex. Both pups sat dutifully on the floor._

" _Paw Patrol ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase declared to Ryder, who had just gotten up from putting his socks and shoes on, strangely wearing a backpack as well._

" _Sorry to drag you pups out of bed, but we've got a weird one." Ryder announced. "Mayor Goodway just called up and said that it was hard to believe."_

" _If Chickaletta's gotten stuck again, that'll be the third time this week!" Chase retorted apprehensively. "Last time she got stuck not even Marshall's ladder could reach that high!"_

" _Ah, yeah, we totally need more pie..." Marshall slurred sleepily. Chase burst out laughing while Ryder smirked and rolled his eyes while shaking his head._

" _We really need to fill that helicopter soon..." Ryder muttered to himself as his smirk faded. "But it's not that for once, if you'd believe it. It's something that she found."_

"' _Found'?" Chase echoed._

" _It's… a pup." Ryder announced, not sounding certain of his own answer._

"… _a pup?" Marshall parroted, surprising both of them with his sudden wakefulness. "It's not in any danger, is it?"_

" _She didn't say so, but she said she couldn't find an owner."_

_Both pups let out a sad whine. "Poor thing..." Marshall whimpered._

" _That's why we're all going over to City Hall. I have a feeling we're gonna need to do… something."_

" _Like keep it?" Chase asked._

" _Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Chase." Ryder cautioned. "We don't know what could happen or what kind of state it could be in…"_

" _(But I'd love another pup, don't get me wrong!)" he continued internally._

" _But we're gonna help it, right?" Marshall asked._

" _That's what we're here for, Marshall! We ready?" Ryder asked._

" _Let's do it!" Chase and Marshall barked enthusiastically._

" _Alright! Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder cried, dashing for the pole to his ATV. It didn't take long for the two young pups to drive up after he left the garage, with their sirens blaring loud and proud._

_Not that they needed the sirens, given how quiet the roads were. Not a single car was in sight so early in the morning and everyone made good time reaching City Hall, where Mayor Goodway was waiting for them out front._

" _Oh, Paw Patrol! Thank you for coming so quickly!" Mayor Goodway greeted._

" _We're here to help!" Ryder declared. "So where's this pup you mentioned?"_

" _Just in my office. We'd better hurry. Chickaletta's not too happy about her nest being taken."_

" _You… put the pup in Chickaletta's nest?" Chase echoed._

" _I didn't want to leave it in that box! It was filthy!"_

" _Did it look sick?" Marshall asked._

" _I can't tell..." Mayor Goodway admitted. "...but please, let's hurry!"_

_Mayor Goodway hurriedly herded everyone inside and down the halls to her office. Never before had she been so eager for someone to come to her office, but when there was a life potentially at stake, she could fly down the halls faster than a speeding bullet. It didn't take long for her to briskly get everyone into her office, where Chickaletta was sat on her desk, staring vacantly at the blanket-wrapped bundle in her nest._

" _Oh, Chickaletta, there's no need to be jealous!" Mayor Goodway scolded. "The Paw Patrol are here, now! They'll be able to do something!"_

" _(The first step is knowing what that 'something' is!)" Ryder thought as moved towards the bundle. And as it came into focus, it became clear why Mayor Goodway was so distressed. Even with Marshall and Chase being larger breeds, this pup was even smaller than the pair of them and seemed to have trouble opening its eyes. By Ryder's reckoning, this brown-furred pup could only have been a couple of weeks old._

" _Ohh..." Ryder put a hand to his chest and stared at the pup with deep sympathy in his eyes. The pup, seeming to hear him, turned around and looked at him with its honey-coloured eyes barely open, tensing up and beginning to shake._

" _Hey, hey, it's OK, little fella..." Ryder whispered. "I'm not gonna hurt you..."_

_Chase and Marshall stared up at the frightened-looking pup._

" _It's… so… small..." Marshall whispered. "It's even littler than I was when I joined the Paw Patrol!"_

" _No kidding!" Ryder replied sadly. "It's definitely not at talking age! I don't even think its been weaned, yet!"_

_The pups cocked their heads. "Huh? Ryder, sir, what's 'weaned'?" Chase asked innocently._

" _It's when a pup doesn't need to live from its mother's milk anymore, Chase." Goodway explained gently._

" _So… the pup can't live without its mom?" Marshall asked. "Where is she?"_

" _I wish I knew, Marshall… that box is so dirty I can't even make out the note that came with it!" Mayor Goodway pointed at the dirty, heavily water-damaged cardboard box in the corner to illustrate her point._

" _There's a note?" Ryder asked, looking back from letting the pup sniff his hand and wondering why Mayor Goodway hadn't mentioned the note earlier. "Chase? Can you read it?"_

" _I-I'll try..." Chase stammered, moving towards the box as if he was afraid something would jump out at him._

" _Marshall. Listen carefully. Mr. Porter stocks some puppy milk at his store. I need you run over and get some for me." Ryder instructed. "Tell him that Ryder will come by later to pay for it. Right now, this pup looks hungry. Can you handle that?"_

" _Yes, sir, Ryder, sir!" Marshall barked back immediately._

" _Go get 'em!" Ryder replied, causing Marshall to bolt out the door._

" _Oh, no..." Goodway sighed. "I knew they might be hungry, but I don't have anything to feed them with!"_

" _Don't worry, Mayor Goodway!" Ryder reassured, taking the backpack off. "I came prepared!"_

_Unzipping the pack, Ryder drew out a bottle suitable for a very small puppy, unscrewing the top in preparation for Marshall's return. As if on cue, the pup in the nest whimpered and cried in hunger._

" _Shh, shh… It's OK, little guy..." Ryder cooed. "Marshall's one speedy pup. It won't be too long before we get some food in your little tummy."_

" _URGH-! Yuck!" Chase suddenly cried, causing Ryder to jump. "Man, this box smells terrible! Where the heck did it come from?!"_

" _It can't have been anything good, Chase." Goodway explained. "I don't even know who left it here, but it seems they left a note and some kind of tag with no collar."_

_Steeling himself, the young shepherd pressed his paws into the filthy box and tipped it up. And as Mayor Goodway had said, out spilled a sheet of creased-up, dirty paper and a small, metallic, coin-shaped object._

" _You weren't kidding." Chase observed. "Does the note say anything?"_

" _If it does, I can't read it." Goodway replied. "Even if it wasn't so dirty, the handwriting is illegible!"_

" _Ill… edge… ibble?" Chase slowly parroted._

" _It means 'can't be read', Chase." Ryder explained as his pup flattened out the note and squinted at it._

" _Well, that's a good word!" Chase observed. "I can't read it at all!"_

_Indeed, the note was so dirty and the handwriting so poor that Chase was utterly unable to make heads or tails of it. He could only make out a faint squiggle here and there vaguely resembling a letter when they weren't cut off by a large patch of brown dirt. For a while, there was silence, except for the heartbreaking whining coming from the baby pup. Ryder did his best to quietly soothe the pup, but it clearly hadn't eaten in a long time. Ryder couldn't resist smelling the pup, either, who smelled noticeably dirty. But eventually, Chase managed to slowly start to spell out the note._

" _P… E… S… A… E… R… E… M… Y… P… M… R… R… Y?" Chase slowly spelled out._

" _Whatever could that mean?" Goodway pondered._

_Ryder fell silent for a few seconds. "Maybe… I think the last sentence is 'I'M SORRY'… And I can make out 'MY' in there, too..."_

" _But what's that 'P' in the middle of it?" Chase asked._

" _Maybe it means 'PUP'?" Goodway proposed._

" _Wait-!" Chase cried. "Maybe the first words are 'PLEASE TAKE CARE'? So put together… 'PLEASE TAKE CARE OF MY PUP. I'M SORRY.'?"_

" _It sounds like whoever left this pup here couldn't take care of it..." Ryder observed. "Or… worse."_

" _Oh, you poor little thing..." Goodway whispered to the pup, who was continuing to whine and cry._

" _C'mon, Marshall… hurry up..." Chase whispered to himself, quietly urging his friend to speed up from afar._

" _It's only been five minutes, Chase. We need to give him a little more time." Ryder reassured. "Don't worry. Marshall's not slow. What about the tag?"_

_Chase took his owner's advice and moved over to the small, silvery tag. It was similarly scented and covered in unidentifiable muck, causing Chase to retch slightly when he put his nose near it, desperately wishing he had a sock to put over his muzzle. But Chase slowly conjured his willpower and focused on the filth-encrusted tag, being able to make out some letters._

" _Hmm… This one's a little easier to make out." Chase observed absentmindedly. "But what is it? This pup's name? The name of one of its parents?"_

" _We don't have anything else on it, Chase." Goodway said. "What does the tag say?"_

" _It says… Z… U… M… A…?"_

"' _Zuma'?" Ryder parroted. "That's a funny name."_

" _I don't even know if that's a girl's name or a boy's name!" Chase complained. "If it's the pup's name, then how do we know if it's a boy or a girl?"_

" _I should be able to figure it out..." Ryder replied uncertainly._

" _Huh? How?" Chase asked._

_Ryder swallowed heavily. "Errrrrrr..." He really didn't want to answer that question, praying in vain that Chase wouldn't ask it._

" _GUYS!" A voice startled them from down the hall. "I've got the milk!"_

_Ryder sighed heavily with relief, knowing that he'd just dodged a bullet. "Whew… Come on, Marshall! Get the lead out!" he called back. "I'm not sure how long this pup's- WHOA, HEY, CAREFUL!"_

" _Aaaaaaaaahhhh-!"_

_As Marshall came into view, carrying the six-pack of milk in his mouth, Ryder noticed that he was going much too fast. And in trying to slow down, the clumsy pup tripped over his own feet, dropping the milk and sending it sliding to the side of the room to be caught by Chase, with the dalmatian rolling to a halt right in front of his owner's feet, lying sprawled on the floor, with the milk being mostly-undamaged by the small dalmatian's falling over it._

" _I'm good!" Marshall declared._

" _Jeez…" Ryder mumbled, staring at the clumsy pup at his feet. "What are we gonna do with you? But thanks for hurrying, Marshall. Just make sure you watch out next time. We didn't want the milk to get crushed."_

_Marshall whimpered. "I'm sorry, Ryder, sir..."_

_Ryder reached and reassuringly patted his pup's head. "No, it's good, Marshall. But I need you to take more care with stuff like this. Got it?"_

" _Got it."_

" _Good pup." Ryder smiled down at Marshall, before moving to take the milk from Chase, who eagerly offered it up._

" _OK… here goes."_

_As quickly as he could, Ryder took a somewhat-dented plastic bottle of milk out of the pack and hurriedly unscrewed the lid, taking the bottle that he'd prepared earlier and pouring the contents into the pup's bottle. All the while, the pups and Mayor Goodway watched intently, occasionally directing their gaze back towards the whimpering, hungry Zuma. Soon, Ryder got to his feet, bottle set to the side of the floor, reaching out towards Zuma, who tensed up as Ryder took the tiny pup in his arms._

" _Shh, shh, shh… It's OK, little Zuma..." Ryder whispered. "I've got what you need."_

_Ryder slowly sat cross-legged on the floor, next to the bottle while setting the baby pup in his lap, reassuringly laying one hand on Zuma's head while reaching for the bottle. Strangely, upon hearing the name "Zuma", the pup calmed down slightly. They were slightly hesitant to drink from the bottle at first as Ryder brought it near, but when Zuma got a couple of drops in their mouth, the pup began to suckle. Slowly at first, but they quickly started to drink greedily from the bottle offered by Ryder, as the boy continued to stroke the pup's head._

" _Ohh… Now that is just precious..." Mayor Goodway cooed._

_For a five-year old, Ryder's paternal instinct was truly remarkable. He'd only been taking care of Chase by himself for a little while, and Marshall had only been with them for six months, but he had taken to caring for a baby pup like it was nothing at all. Even Chase and Marshall couldn't stop themselves from smiling as they watched the pup hungrily devour the milk in the bottle. Eventually, the pup drained the bottle, curling up in Ryder's arms with its eyes drifting closed. And on cue, Ryder lifted the pup to his shoulder, patting its back until it let out a soft, high-pitched belch, allowing Ryder to lower the pup back into his lap._

" _Aww, look how happy it looks!" Goodway cooed again._

" _Shhhh!" Marshall and Chase cautioned, noting how sleepy the pup looked._

" _Hey, er, guys?" Ryder piped up quietly. "Could you all, er… look away for a sec?"_

" _Huh? Why?" Marshall whispered._

" _Better do as he says, pups." Goodway advised._

_In confusion, the pups turned away and stared at the wall, unable to see what Ryder was doing, only able to make out the odd scattered "Hmm..." and "Uhh..." from the boy._

" _It's a boy." Ryder concluded. "You can all look now."_

_Everyone turned to look back at Ryder. "What did you do, Ryder, sir? How can you tell?" Chase whispered innocently._

" _Errrrrrr…" Ryder stammered. "...I, err… I'll tell you when you're older."_

_Shrugging, Chase moved to Ryder's right side while Marshall took Ryder's left._

" _So what should we do, Ryder?" Goodway asked quietly._

_Ryder looked down at Zuma, who seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open. But it was clear that he was happier than he'd been in a long time._

" _I don't know…" he admitted. "...nobody's around who'd want a pup, right?"_

_Mayor Goodway bit her lip. "Not as far as I know. No-one's come to City Hall to adopt since, er..."_

" _Yeah." Ryder stopped her, aware of what she was likely about to say. That being that no-one came to adopt since Marshall's dad was adopted six months ago, with the young dalmatian staying behind with his new family. Knowing that it'd be a sore spot to mention with Marshall in the room, Ryder thought it best to end it there._

_Ryder looked to his right to see Chase giving him a pleading expression, with eyes that could pierce the soul. He looked to his left to see Marshall doing the exact same thing. He'd never let them know it, but it was very easy to get to him with those kinds of eyes. Not that he needed to be gotten to. He had a feeling that he was on the same wavelength as the pups._

" _...I'll take him."_

_Both Marshall and Chase gasped. "Really?!" they shouted with sparkles in their eyes._

" _Shhhh!" Ryder and Mayor Goodway cautioned, prompting both pups to go rigid._

" _He can live at the Lookout with us. He's got no-one else to love him." Ryder lifted the pup up to his face. "And I've got way more love to give."_

_Ryder was caught off-guard as Zuma licked his nose, still staring at him with a pair of sleepy, honey-coloured eyes. Ryder giggled as he kissed Zuma's nose._

" _You think he can be part of the Paw Patrol?" Marshall asked._

" _Not when he's that little, though!" Chase replied. "Still. Wonder what he could do?"_

" _Don't worry, pups." Ryder said warmly. "We've got all the time in the world to find a place for your new baby brother..."_

" _Excellent choice, Ryder…" Mayor Goodway praised. "Mind if I get a photo?"_

" _You know it." he replied, still smiling at the sleepy-eyed pup. As Mayor Goodway got her camera from her desk drawer, Ryder, knowing that he'd just found a new member of the Paw Patrol, tapped his index finger against Zuma's nose._

" _Boop."_


	22. A Remembrance of Time

"Zuma was like a baby brother to us in a lot of ways." Chase concluded. "We all loved playing with him when he was little. And he REALLY wanted to be part of the Paw Patrol. He just couldn't find his place for a long time."

"I just wish I wasn't such a late bloomer..." Zuma sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with being a late bloomer, Zuma." Marshall reassured. "Better late than never, after all. Besides, you know we would've kept you even if you weren't cut out to be part of the Paw Patrol!"

"Marshall's right!" Skye declared. "We all nearly worshipped you back then! We wouldn't wanna get rid of you!"

"I can't imagine the group without you, Zuma!" Rocky added.

"It's thanks to you I learned how to swim!" Rubble said, giving a toothy bulldog grin.

Zuma smiled even more widely than before. "Aww, you guys..." he laughed bashfully.

"Hey, if these baby pictures are anything to go by, it sounds like everyone's right!" Everest said.

"Paw Patrol or not, it still looks you had a heck of a life, Zuma!" Tracker added.

Everyone quickly turned their attention to what Tracker was talking about. It was a collage of smaller pictures of a very young Zuma. There were all kinds of pictures in it, from the tiny pup staring in wonderment into the camera while covered in a beard of bath suds, to a shot of Ryder bottle-feeding him, Chase carrying Zuma on his back, Marshall going down the slide with Zuma in front of him and many more. With silly and cute photos alike, Zuma truly looked like the group's baby brother, just as Chase had described him.

"They all said my twue calling was kinda obvious when they thought about it." Zuma explained. "Like, I always liked swimming and baths. Heh, Wyder actually said it was always hard to get me out of the tub."

The pups giggled again.

"Well, whenever you went down to the beach, you always went straight for the sea." Chase offered.

"And Chase had to net you to stop you from taking a shower under a waterfall!" Marshall added.

"We all knew you were cut out to be a water pup, Zuma." Skye reassured. "We just wanted you to find out in your own time. We didn't wanna force you. We've all got stuff we're good at, here."

"No, I know..." Zuma said with a grin. "I wemember how good it felt when I saved Wally that one time… I always had a feeling that I was cut out to be a water pup. And that basically cemented it."

"We were all so proud!" Rocky said.

"I kinda wish I wasn't a couple weeks late to see that one." Rubble sighed.

"Like I said, better late than never, right?" Marshall said reassuringly, flipping to the next page.

What greeted the pups next was the sight of a cockapoo mid-flip at the head of a pair of perturbed pups, with a silver helicopter with pink highlights parked behind them all. Marshall and Chase looked on with dropped jaws at the flipping pup, and Ryder had his mouth open slightly in surprise, holding the tiny Zuma in his arms, who looked far more excited than the other pups.

"Aww, darn it, my eyes are closed!" Skye joked, causing the rest of the pups to burst out laughing.

"NOW Skye joins the team." Chase declared, looking at Everest.

"Oh! It all makes sense, now!" Everest cried.

"Zuma kinda took us off-guard when he appeared before Skye." Tracker admitted.

"What can I say? I do that sometimes." Zuma grinned.

"Skye's parents actually wanted her to be an actress, believe it or not." Marshall explained. "But she always said she wanted to run the machines rather than be in front of them."

"So now I get to use the gadgets AND do all the stunts!" Skye declared proudly. "Win-win!"

"And we all get to talk to her parents, sometimes." Rocky added. "They always say how proud they are of her, too."

"I guess they love you more than you thought, Skye?" Rubble reassured.

"Maybe..." Skye whispered, her thoughts drifting to her parents, before she noticed her first rescue. "Heeeey! Check that out!"

The image was of Skye airlifting Alex away from a rock in the sea with her harness. Alex looked happy enough, although Skye looked slightly nervous in the photo.

"I don't know what you were worried about, Skye!" Chase gushed. "You were amazing!"

Everyone turned to look at Chase, who realised what he'd just said and turned away with a red face. "Er, um, I mean..."

Skye just giggled. "That's very sweet of you, Chase. And it was sweet of you to say that back then, too."

"But the looks we got..." Marshall countered. "You'd think people have never seen a pup fly a helicopter, before!"

"Well, that does make sense. We're not exactly what you'd call a 'normal' rescue team..." Rocky replied glibly.

"I got a few looks of my own when I was wescuing Wally, you know." Zuma added.

"But not as many. I guess people had gotten used to us by then." Marshall replied, turning the page once more.

The next page was of a mixed-breed pup standing proudly next to a green recycling truck, flanked on both sides by the rest of the pups. Marshall and Skye on one side, Chase and Zuma on the other, with Ryder kneeling next to Rocky with a proud smile.

"Now who's THAT good-lookin' pup?!" Rocky declared proudly, to giggles from the rest of the group.

"This wasn't long after you met Skye, right?" Everest asked Marshall.

"You got it." Marshall replied. "And it all started from Rocky stealing random stuff from the Lookout."

"Poor guy was totally homeless..." Chase recalled sadly. "He was making all those machines to try to impress a potential owner."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Rocky retorted.

"It sure did!" Skye replied. "Though that was only AFTER Chase netted him when he tried to steal some chew toys."

"Apparently after that, Ryder made Rocky take him to the junkyard to get everyone's stuff back." Rubble explained. "He saw all Rocky's machines, and thought his talents couldn't go to waste!"

"And I'm weally happy he thought that!" Zuma added. "He's made so much cool stuff for us!"

"Don't make me blush, Zuma..." Rocky complained with a sheepish smile.

"That really IS Humble Beginnings..." Tracker mused. "I mean, Rocky was straight-up homeless before Ryder found him! Doesn't get much more humble than that!"

"Yep, and he's always been a big help." Marshall affirmed, gesturing to the next photo.

This photo was of Rocky standing proudly next to a huge stack of potatoes with a beaming Farmer Yumi next to him.

"Oh, gosh!" Zuma cried. "I hope Fawmer Yumi cut down on her potato cwops after that!"

"Don't worry, she did!" Rocky replied. "She didn't know what to do with all those potatoes, though. But she was nice enough to send us some of the stuff she made with 'em."

"Gugh..." Marshall groaned. "I never wanted to even look at a potato for weeks after that..."

"There's only so much potato pie a pup can eat before he gets sick of it..." Chase grumbled.

"Hey, at least Farmer Yumi branched out after that." Skye said.

"Darn, if I'd joined a little earlier, I could've helped you all out!" Rubble complained lightheartedly, patting his stomach.

"Same here!" Everest concurred with a slightly-disappointed look.

"Hey, careful, guys. All those potatoes would make you REALLY fat." Tracker cautioned.

"Hey! What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Everest barked indignantly.

"Now, guys." Marshall interrupted. "We're not here to bicker." he cast a knowing look and a wry smile at the shepherd next to him. "That's our job."

Chase couldn't help but smirk as he punched Marshall in the arm, which the dalmatian quickly returned before flipping pages, revealing a familiar chocolate labrador sat in a hovercraft looking happier than he'd ever been, with Ryder stood just outside it with a hand on the pup's head, with every other pup sat at the sides of the vehicle looking up at it with pride.

"Oh, so now Zuma joins, huh?" Everest asked.

"Happiest day of my life..." Zuma sighed happily.

"It sure was!" Rocky concurred. "I think after we took that photo you did more flips in a day than Skye does in a week!"

"Wockyyyy!" Zuma whined. "You said you wouldn't talk about that anymowwwe!"

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, you'd make a great gymnast!" Skye joked with a smile, watching Zuma cover his eyes with a paw again.

"OK, guys, that's enough." Chase interrupted. "We're embarrassing Zuma."

"This was after he rescued Wally?" Tracker asked.

"Yup." Marshall replied. "Got stuck in some rocks. Tide was coming in fast."

"Urgh..." Rubble grumbled. "I don't even wanna think about what would've happened if Zuma was a little slower in swimming out to him..."

"Er, let's not go there, Rubble." Marshall quickly interjected. "How about this instead?"

The photo that Marshall was gesturing to was of Cap'n Turbot being towed behind Zuma's hovercraft in a buoy back to shore amid a stormy backdrop. Zuma looked happy enough, but the Cap'n looked like a drowned rat, thoroughly unhappy with what had just happened.

"I dunno what Cap'n Turbot was thinking going out in the middle of a stowm like that!" Zuma recalled.

"I couldn't leave the Lookout for a rescue like that! Yuck!" Rocky grumbled, thinking about all of the water involved in the storm.

"Zuma really got thrown in at the deep end for his first real rescue." Skye said. "And trying to fly in weather like that?! Urgh! I was glad to be back on the ground after that!"

"Ryder made a huge fuss over you guys after that, and so did I." Marshall reminded. "It wasn't just bad for you two."

"I was so worried about you guys..." Chase added. "I think that was our first really dangerous rescue."

"Wow… You've been going through stuff that dangerous for that long, huh?" Tracker asked.

"No wonder you're all so brave!" Everest observed.

"I think I remember that storm, actually!" Rubble cried. "Wasn't it a day or two before I met you guys?"

"I think you're right, Rubble." Marshall replied. "And that day would be..."

Marshall turned the page while holding on the last syllable of his sentence. And sure enough, the next page showed a much-smaller bulldog sat in Ryder's lap, with the boy sitting in front of a bulldozer with a huge smile, surrounded by the rest of the Paw Patrol all looking as happy as could be.

"...right here!"

"Hey, I remember that one!" Rubble said excitedly. "Wow, I was so tiny!"

"Nothing a lot of food couldn't fix." Chase replied. "I mean, you were starving when Marshall found you in that tree, weren't you?"

"I guess any food would've been better than nothing, right?" Rocky added.

"Sure would..." Rubble replied. "...it was the first time I'd been regularly fed, actually."

"Aww, poor Rubble..." Everest whimpered. "You had it that rough before you met the pups?"

"Well, wough or not, it doesn't matter now, wight?" Zuma asked.

"Zuma's right." Tracker added. "What matters is that you've got a home, now. And a family who love you."

"I know, I know..." Rubble said quietly. "...and I'm grateful for it every day… So you can see why I can't stand the thought of losing one of-"

"HEEEEEEEEYYYY!! Check this out!" Marshall loudly interrupted. Any longer and it was almost certain everyone would've gotten depressed all over again. "Rubble's first rescue!"

Rubble stopped talking and looked towards what Marshall was talking about. And sure enough, there Rubble was pushing the results of a mudslide out of the way of a mountainside Adventure Bay road, while Skye flew overhead, with Bettina in her harness.

"Good thing we had Rubble for that one, or we might've never gotten all that mud out of the road!" Skye observed.

"I'll say. That was one nasty mudslide!" Chase replied.

"Good thing for Bettina, too!" Tracker added. "Mudslides are no joke!"

"Yeah, if a mudslide is anything like an avalanche, Bettina got lucky!"

"You were a natural with that thing, Rubble!" Rocky said.

"You think? It took me a few tries to get everything fixed." Rubble replied.

"Hey, no need to sell yourself short, Wubble!" Zuma reassured. "None of us were pewfect fiwst time, wemember?"

"Heck, we still aren't now!" Marshall added.

"I guess you're right." Rubble conceded, smiling at his friends' reassurance. "So, what's next, Marshall?"

"Err, nothing." Marshall replied, turning the page to emphasise his point, revealing the final page with a group photo of the entire core team in front of City Hall. "That's all the photos. Well, except for this one."

"Wasn't this around our one-year anniversary?" Chase asked.

"I don't think we'd met you two, then." Skye added, looking towards Everest and Tracker.

"Good times, though." Rubble interjected. "Good cake, too!" The bulldog patted his stomach to punctuate his point, prompting giggling from the group.

"I wondew how they all kept it secwet fwom us?" Zuma wondered.

"I was wondering how all those emergencies could happen so close to each other, though..." Rocky theorised. "Perfect for splitting us up and keeping us busy, right?"

"Darn, wish we'd met you earlier..." Tracker sighed.

"Hey, I'm just glad we met you guys at all!" Everest countered.

"So are we, Everest!" Marshall replied happily, closing the book.

Looking outside, the rain still had yet to subside. It beat down upon the Lookout just as heavily as it did prior. But the same could not be said for the pups, who felt as if the sun itself had illuminated the room from how happy they were all simply walking down memory lane and discussing their finer moments, weaving their stories for the two pups who weren't there to see them. But their finer moments had also brought a lot of embarrassing moments for them all.

"Well, that's one book done." Marshall announced, pulling "SILLY PUPS" into the middle of the pile. "Now for the next one."

"Aww, jeez, noooo..." Chase whined.

"Well, this ought to be good..." Everest observed.

"No, it's howwible!" Zuma chuckled.

"C'mon, Zuma, it's not all bad!" Rocky reassured. "There's probably gonna be some cool stuff in there too!"

"Way less than the embarrassing stuff..." Rubble mumbled to himself.

"Don't worry about it, Rubble. We've all had our silly moments!" Skye replied reassuringly.

"Well, what are we waiting for, amigos?!" Tracker asked. "I'm itching to see some of this!"

"Well, OK, guess I'll open it to a random page..." Marshall said tentatively.

Almost dreading what the album might show, Marshall dug his paw under a page of the thicker album and threw the book open, praying that maybe, just maybe it'd be a cool shot of one of them. But instead, it was quite the opposite, much to Marshall's dismay. Even more so when the photo revealed him and Chase fast asleep, snuggled together in Ryder's bed, noses touching, arms around each other and both looking incredibly peaceful, with their respective teddies pushed to one side.

"AAAAAGH!!" Marshall screamed.

"WHAT THE-?! WHEN WAS THAT TAKEN?!!" Chase shrieked.

"Awwwwww! That's so cute!" Skye cooed.

"You guys slept in Ryder's bed?!" Rubble asked incredulously with a huge grin.

"We've got questions, you two." Zuma said with an amused smirk. "We want answers."

"Did you two have nightmares again, or something?" Rocky asked.

"Yes..." Marshall said quietly, looking at the floor with his face burning with shame at the embarrassing photo.

"It's because I… I… -ad ight- re- n to- all..." Chase mumbled.

"Chaaaaase..." Skye sang teasingly.

"I HAD A NIGHTMARE WHERE I WAS MEAN TO MARSHALL!" Chase shouted.

Suddenly, everyone was silent, staring at Chase with a mix of surprise and sympathy.

"I… took him to Ryder's room… so I could talk to him and help him feel better..." Marshall admitted quietly. "He… He was afraid his temper would make him drive me away…"

"What 'temper'?!" Skye demanded. "Chase, I know you're kind of a hothead sometimes, but that's all because you worry about us!"

"You're not mean, Chase!" Rubble shouted. "Not by a long shot!"

"Yeah… Marshall said..." Chase whispered, smiling slightly.

"That's really nice of you, Marshall..." Rocky said, looking with happiness at his friend. "Heh, still looking out for everyone when we have nightmares..."

"That's so sweet!" Everest added. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about!"

"But why were you in Ryder's bed, guys?" Tracker asked.

"Actually, the only time Wyder hasn't slept in his bed that I can think of when we were all at the Lookout was when he huwt his hand." Zuma explained. "He'd spent that night in the hospital."

"He must've taken the photo when he came back in the morning..." Chase realised. "He did wake us up, come to think of it."

"Yeah, and he said it was funny, so I guess no harm done?" Marshall asked.

"Especially when you both look as cute as that!" Skye teased.

"OK, MOVING ON!" Chase yelled with his face turning bright-red once more and his eyes widening, digging his paw under a random page and nearly lifting the book off of the ground with how hard he turned the page.

The next sight was somewhat morbid-looking. The sight was of four pups facepalming and giggling in the background. And in the foreground, Marshall was in his EMT gear, rolling his eyes while smirking uncontrollably next to Rubble, who was lying on his back with his eyes rolled into the back of his head and frothing at the mouth, his tongue slightly visible and all four limb as stiff as planks.

"Oh, jeez..." Chase grumbled with a smirk, looking at Rubble. "If we were on a stage that day, people would've started throwing flowers..."

"Hey! It's not like you all took the smell of that evil food much better!" Rubble barked, giggling while raising his paws defensively.

"It was only fruit, you big drama queen!" Marshall teased playfully.

"Whoa!" Everest shouted. "What happened here?! Rubble looked really bad!"

"Well…" Rocky explained with an exasperated grin. "Adventure Bay was holding a world food festival. And Mr. Porter had some special fruits he got from somewhere in the world… Oh, no, what were they called…?"

"I don't remember, but they smelled… urgh, man..." Skye groaned, shuddering in remembrance of the faint aroma of the horrid fruit.

"We thought they were wotten, that's for sure!" Zuma added.

"Wait." Tracker realised. "You're not talking about durians, are you?"

Skye went rigid. "Yeah, that was it!"

"In that case, I don't blame you, Rubble!" Tracker said. "Those things smell like a hippo pit!"

"A hippo pit full of poop or something!" Rubble replied. "I thought it'd taste really good, but one sniff made me black out!"

"I mean, we all couldn't handle the smell, but you looked like you'd got rabies or something!" Skye observed.

"And YOU looked like you were gonna puke!" Rubble retorted with an uncontrollable smile. "And again, it's not like any of you took the smell much better than I did!"

"OK, OK…" Chase interjected lightheartedly. "We'd all had our rabies shots, so no need to worry there. And Rubble does have a point. I mean, it's a good thing we all skipped breakfast before the festival, otherwise Marshall would've been seriously busy after we smelled those durians!"

"No, Chase. It's a REALLY good thing!" Marshall emphatically concurred, to much laughter from the group.

As everyone's laughter subsided, Marshall soon turned to another random page. But this photo caused the entire group to fall silent.

"Is… that…?" Rocky stuttered.

"Wasn't that when…?" Chase added falteringly.

"What is…?" Everest slowly asked.

The silence persisted for a second, before immediately being replaced with howls of raucous laughter. The picture consisted of some pups looking away in embarrassment, while others stared in terror at the sight of Ryder standing atop Mr. Porter's store with his fists clenched, looking up and roaring to the heavens with a huge, triumphant smile on his face, wearing a strange, colourful hat.

"Wh-Wha-?!" Everest choked. "What the heck is Ryder doing-?!"

"OK, OK, OK..." Marshall wheezed, forcing back his laughter. "So here's the thing. This was at our one-year anniversary, too. Ryder… Ryder drank a lot of punch. It was way too sweet for almost everyone… But he loved it. He- He..." Marshall began to choke on his laughter again. "He drank almost half the bowl! He had the biggest sugar rush we've ever seen!"

"WHA-?!" Tracker shrieked, bursting out laughing again. "Ryder?! Having a sugar rush?!"

"I know, wight?!" Zuma shouted. "He didn't calm down fow about thwee hours!"

"I mean, we were all trying to chase after him at one point and none of us could catch him!" Skye added through her own mirth. "We were all on the floor too tired to even stand up and Ryder was still buzzed-! He just wouldn't sit still or even talk slow enough for us to understand!"

"That's nothing!" Chase added, laughing at how even his owner could be silly sometimes. "When he finally crashed, he just blacked out in the street! R-Rubble had to pick him up in his scoop to take him back home-!"

"It's…! It's way better for picking up people than… than I thought it'd be!" Rubble replied, gasping for breath in between words.

Some of the pups began to pound the floor from laughing so hard. Another reminder that Ryder, for all his professionalism and maturity, was still as much of a child as any of them, and was prone to his own moments of immaturity. Like imbibing far too much sugar for a boy his age.

"Ohh… Man, Ryder's the best..." Marshall sighed, finally calming down with the rest of the pups, stopping to flick a tear away from his eye before flipping to another random page. But once again, the room fell as quiet as a graveyard, the atmosphere growing as thick as mud. For a long time, the pups stared wordlessly at the image that Marshall had stopped at with their mouths hanging open, none daring to say anything.

"Errrrrr… right." Rocky began, uncertain. "I, er… I guess you, er… You have a lot of questions. But, really, it's easier to talk about than it looks… There's a simple explanation for this, you know. See, this, er… I mean, it's… Really, there's-"

"WHY IS ROCKY DRESSED LIKE A SUNFLOWER?!!" Tracker screamed.

The pups all immediately fell about laughing again at Tracker's blunt question, combined with the ridiculous sight of Rocky grinning to the camera in a sunflower costume.

"He- He looks so cute in it, doesn't he?!" Skye guffawed.

"It looks better than his normal gear, right?!" Rubble laughed.

"Alright, we're done here! Move on, already!" Rocky barked, his face practically aflame. The embarrassment was clear in his brown eyes.

"B-But…!" Chase choked. "C'mon, there's… there's a really funny story behind this!"

"I WILL BITE OFF YOUR EARS AND NAIL THEM TO YOUR BUTT, MISTER!!!" Rocky roared, causing Chase to laugh so hard that he went completely silent, only giving the odd wheeze as tears streamed from his eyes.

"M-Mawshall…!" Zuma gasped. "Please…! Turn the page-! I-I… I think… Chase… Ch-Chase is gonna die…!"

"M-Me… Me too-!" Marshall wheezed, extending a trembling paw towards the book and flipping to a new page.

For a while, the pups couldn't concentrate on the book as they all gasped for air from laughing so hard. Ryder's photo had made them practically bust a gut, but Rocky's photo nearly finished them off entirely. Eventually, Rocky's face had stopped burning with embarrassment and pups finally settled down enough to look at a new photo. And this time, it was Skye's turn to feel chagrin at the image of her dressed up as a black-robed witch, rubbing her paws together and giving the camera a sinister sneer alongside Chase, who was dressed up as a warlock in purple robes, laughing evilly into the camera.

"Aww, maaan..." Skye whined. "I still don't get why I had to be the bad guy in that play..."

"Hey, so did I!" Chase added. "It totally doesn't fit either of us!"

"C'mon, you guys did a good job!" Marshall countered.

"Especially when the play had half the cast get sick!" Rocky added.

"But it's totally wrong!" Chase spat. "I-I mean, I'm not dark and gritty! I'm Chase! I'm a nice pup, right?! Heck, I'm a police pup and just thinking about guns is enough to make me sick!" He held up his front paws with an exasperated expression. "These paws uphold the laws, don't they?!"

"What about me?!" Skye added indignantly. "I always thought I was a good pup! I'm not a witch! I-I don't hurt people! Putting anything in danger makes me feel... pukey!"

"But guys, isn't a play all about being someone you're not?" Everest countered. "Someone had to do it. And you look like you had fun. Isn't that what matters in the end?"

Both pups paused for a moment, unable to come up with a counter for Everest's argument.

"Huh… I guess you're right." Chase conceded.

"Well, I DID enjoy it a little..." Skye added.

"Hey. We all enjoyed that play. And so did everyone who watched it! We were all winners!" Marshall reassured, turning the page as he looked at the smiles of his friends.

But when Marshall looked back down, the photo that greeted him was of Zuma buried in fish, looking like he was on the verge of puking. The poor labrador's eyes were watering as his cheeks bulged on Cap'n Turbot's ship. And in the background was Cap'n Turbot, looking guilty.

"Uwp-!" Zuma gagged. "Awwwgh… I… I wish I'd fowgotten that… Jeez, that… I don't think I got wid of that smell until a few weeks had gone!"

"Ugh-! Yuck!" Rocky choked. "I just remembered it, too!"

"What happened there?!" Tracker asked. "Did someone spill fish all over Zuma?!"

"Yeah, someone was being pretty clumsy there. And for once it wasn't me!" Marshall explained.

"Cap'n Turbot dropped a bucket full of fish all over him." Chase went further. "Some thanks for saving him, huh?"

"We didn't think fish could be so stinky that the smell would get stuck in his fur for that long..." Skye sighed. "Lookout smelled like a fishmonger's for weeks!"

"Wyder had to give me a bath evewy day, and that still didn't help the smell!" Zuma scoffed.

"Trust me, fish is a nightmare to get rid of the smell of, Zuma." Everest reassured. "Jake went ice-fishing once and accidentally threw one of his catches in my face! It took weeks to get the smell out of MY fur, too!"

"Hey, at least Cap'n Turbot keeps his fish far away from us, now!" Marshall said lightheartedly, flipping to another random page. "Oh, wait, this is the end. Oops. Guess I-"

But Marshall interrupted himself with an involuntary gasp when he looked down at the final page in the album. The sight was very familiar, and yet, not something he actually remembered. The other pups, for their part, had gone completely rigid and quiet, the sight clearly shocking them into silence, too.

"It's… It's..." Chase stuttered.

"Us..." Skye continued.

The pups were correct. The photo showed a head on shot of the pups all piled up together as the morning sun streamed through the windows of the Lookout, every single one snoozing into the new day, all looking as blissful and happy as could be. Marshall was at the centre with Everest on top of him and Rocky underneath his head, with Chase and Skye snuggled into either side of him, and Tracker, Zuma and Rubble slept snuggled tightly next to them.

"B-But… this was..." Marshall whispered.

"Just a couple nights ago..." Rocky completed the dalmatian's sentence.

"Did… Ryder take this… while we were all sleeping…?" Rubble asked quietly.

"He's gotta have..." Zuma replied.

"Hold on, guys." Everest interjected. "Didn't you guys sleep with Ryder after he had a bad nightmare last night?"

"Yeah, and I think he's been having them for days..." Chase replied.

"That makes sense." Tracker replied. "The poor guy sounds really out of it..."

"He LOOKS really out of it, too…" Marshall affirmed. "Remember when I told you how Ryder looked yesterday?"

"So did he take this after a nightmare woke him up?" Chase asked rhetorically.

"It must've been way after if he looked that bad..." Skye replied sadly, looking down at the page, noticing some faint water marks on the paper around the photo. "Wait… these splotches… are these..."

Chase suddenly took notice of what Skye was talking about and leaned down, putting his nose to the paper and sniffing diligently, before his eyes widened once more as he sat up, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"...tears?"

Now none of the pups felt like laughing anymore. Nor did they feel like looking at any more photos in the album. Since their thoughts were now occupied once more by their owner, and the reminder of just how broken he was. Clearly, the boy still loved them with all his heart, despite how distant he was being. But then, his distant attitude was the entire problem. The current basis behind their big question of the hour.

He clearly wanted to talk to them again. So then why was he continuing to hide from them?


	23. Beyond Hope...

Ever since Marshall had put the albums back in their place in storage, none of the pups had felt like playing or even moving an inch, with most of them electing to lounge around the Lookout in silence. Not for any lack of getting along, but for their inability to get their one final member to even speak to them or come around slightly from his own trauma.

Any attempt to see Ryder had been met with Jake or Carlos turning the pups away no matter how much any of them insisted. But instead of feeling angry at being turned away, the only thing they felt was fatigue. Every single one of their efforts was proving futile, and the pups were only growing to resent Jake and Carlos for stopping them from talking to their owner. The owner who so desperately needed them, they felt.

And Jake and Carlos were starting to feel the same fatigue, which was only growing more intense with the pups clearly starting to dislike them. All of their own efforts to get Ryder to open up were even slower than those of the last few days. The boy simply wouldn't respond to any of them anymore. Jake and Carlos had gotten to speak to Ryder for a while, but the boy had been miles away for the entire time they had tried talking to him. As if he was actively retreating into his own mind to avoid speaking to them. Their frustration was growing more and more as Carlos closed Ryder's bedroom door behind them, the two having given up for the time being. Carlos slumped against the wall, not noticing that Jake had moved to the main room of the Lookout's top floor.

"Carlos? Over here?" Jake asked.

Surprised that Jake had somehow made his way past him, Carlos got to his feet and slowly walked over to join Jake in the centre of the Lookout's briefing room.

"Dude..." Jake began tiredly. "...this is NOT working."

"Tell me something I don't know..." Carlos replied through a huge sigh. "Jake, why can't we just let the pups in to talk to Ryder?"

"It's not gonna be that easy! A few days ago, Skye told me that Ryder just screamed at her when she tried to talk to him! I saw she was trying to hold it in, but she was a total wreck! If that happens again because we overloaded the guy…!"

"OK, OK, I get it! But… our choices are drying up, here… Trying to talk to him through the door's getting us nowhere fast, and if we bring up the pups, we risk him blowing his top again... H-He's been avoiding just about everyone! Even Marshall!"

"So there's only one thing we can do now, dude. We gotta take drastic measures."

"What do you mean? Like forcing him to talk to the pups?"

"Kinda. I'm thinking we need an intervention of some kind. I mean, what else can we do? Getting through to him any other way ain't working."

"Got any ideas?"

"Well… got one. But it's pretty risky."

Carlos shrugged with a resigned expression. "Well, I guess if it's that or just pointlessly talk to him through his door even more..."

Why weren't they taking the hint?

Ryder wanted to be alone. How hard was that to get?! How could they keep it up for so many days?! He'd hurt everyone! His pups, himself, everyone in Adventure Bay… For Ryder, the whole ordeal couldn't blow over fast enough. He couldn't talk to his pups after he'd spent the last few days shutting himself off and yelling at them for the heinous crime of trying to talk to him, after all. In fact, he wasn't sure if he even had the right to call himself the owner of six pups after all that had happened. Marshall coming back made no difference to him. If he was truly a good owner and leader, none of what Marshall and the team went through would've happened in the first place.

He wasn't even sure if he'd ever speak to them properly again, in fact. Obviously, he still cared about them with all his heart, but could he truly say that after letting one of them die? All he could do was wait for the funeral to pass and just pray that things went back to normal by themselves. It seems that having Jake and Carlos bothering him all the time was good for keeping him in the loop. But nothing more.

Ryder was still puzzled at how his horrific nightmares had attracted the pups, though. And even moreso why they even bothered to comfort him the way they did. Didn't they despise him? Why would they come and check on him in the first place? And Rocky getting him a glass of warm milk? He hadn't done anything to deserve their love at all. He may have bore witness to some happy moments, but none of them did anything to light the inky blackness within. In fact, once they were over, he only felt worse. All they did was remind him of the moments that he could never share with his pups again.

In fact, the only thing that lit up anything around him was his Pup Pad. Ryder growled. He'd never set it on "Do Not Disturb" before, but he still got calls from Katie sometimes. Perhaps an odd attempt to cheer him up? Why couldn't they take the hint that he didn't want to talk? Begrudingly, he decided to slake his brain's flaming curiosity by looking over at the cracked screen. Surprisingly, it wasn't Katie's icon that flashed, but that of Mayor Goodway, the same person who they hadn't had contact with for at least a day. Shouldn't her part of the funeral preparations have been keeping her busy along with Skye?

As much as Ryder wanted to let his Pup Pad ring out, just as he'd done every other time before then, he simply couldn't bring himself to ignore Mayor Goodway. Not when she might have been in trouble or worried about him. He'd never say it outright, but Mayor Goodway seemed to have an odd way of connecting with him. For someone who wasn't related to her, Mayor Goodway sure treated Ryder like he was. With great reluctance, Ryder picked up his Pup Pad and very slowly pressed Mayor Goodway's icon, watching as her appearance lit up his screen.

"Mayor Goodway…" Ryder began flatly.

"Oh, goodness sakes, Ryder, you look terrible!" Mayor Goodway scolded. "Have you been looking after yourself at all?!"

The conversation had started predictably. Ryder had looked at himself in the mirror from time to time, but each time, he barely recognised the pale, exhausted boy staring back at him.

"Gimme a break..." Ryder mumbled guiltily. "I've been eating, you know..."

"And has that helped?" Mayor Goodway asked bluntly. "You know how much people care about you! Why are you still shutting yourself off?!"

Ryder simply squeezed his eyes shut and looked away from the screen. He could feel more tears working their way to his eyes, and he had to fight to push them back down. Once he was confident he wasn't going to burst into tears in front of Mayor Goodway, he turned back to her.

"...what did you need, Mayor Goodway?"

Mayor Goodway sighed heavily. "Listen, Ryder. I know you and the pups might not be in any condition to do very much, but I've got a problem, and I didn't know who else to talk to."

"A rescue?"

"I suppose so… My dear Chickaletta's gone and gotten herself stuck in some trees… I don't have any way of getting her down myself… Please, Ryder… just this once?"

If Ryder sighed any harder, he probably would've cracked the windows. It was bad enough he couldn't face his pups, but now he had to face his pups AND go outside to risk being potentially talked to? He couldn't bear to think of it. But an emergency was an emergency. The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could go back into hiding. Hiding from the scorn of the pups he'd failed.

"...just this once." Ryder eventually conceded. "...But I'm warning you. We're not ready to go back into this full-time."

Mayor Goodway, much to Ryder's surprise, smiled. "I owe you a BIG favour, Ryder. Thank you so much."

When the call finally ended, the pit in Ryder's stomach only got deeper. Of course, he'd said that "they" weren't ready to go back into rescuing full time, but the pups were probably itching to get back into action. Ryder just couldn't bear to speak to anyone. After his failure to keep his pups safe, he couldn't even call himself their leader anymore. But what was he supposed to do? Resign? Where would he go then? And where would that leave the pups? He'd already failed them so many times that he'd lost count, but he wasn't exactly prepared to do it again. At least Marshall wouldn't want to endanger himself again. The faster Chickaletta was saved, the better. With a deep breath Ryder tapped the button on his Pup Pad to call the pups to action.

"Pups, er..." Ryder stuttered. "...everyone… We've got a… rescue?"

Instead of an enthusiastic cry from the pups, instead there was a perplexed silence.

"...what the heck was that?" Rocky asked dumbfoundedly, laying in front of the TV with Marshall, Chase and Skye.

"I think… Ryder needs us?" Chase replied uncertainly.

"Maybe we have a rescue?" Skye theorised.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Marshall shouted. "Let's go!"

After a few seconds, Marshall felt his stomach drop, as the looks he was getting gave him the impression that he'd just said the wrong thing entirely.

"...you've gotta be kidding." Chase replied bluntly.

"Marshall, you-!" Skye spluttered. "You're not trying to come on a rescue?!"

"Huh?" Marshall replied dumbfounded. "A-Am I not supposed to? I can't just run away from a rescue!"

"C'mon, think about it, Marshall!" Rocky shot back. "On your last rescue, you nearly died! How could you just… just jump straight back in?! You should be resting! Having fun! Not going right back in!"

"Rocky!" Marshall shouted. "Someone's in trouble! If they need a fire pup, what are we gonna say if I didn't come?! 'Oh, sorry, Marshall didn't come to help you, he's too lazy'?!"

"Marshall, you know it's not that!" Skye retorted. "We've told you a million times what losing you did to us! And it was all because of that rescue! You're going straight back into something possibly dangerous if it's something that needs a fire pup! We just got you back! We might run the risk of losing you all over again!"

"But what if it's not?!" Marshall demanded.

"We can't take that chance!" Skye replied. "We can't let you come with us! Not after we came so close to losing you last time!"

Marshall felt wounded. Deep down, he understood why everyone was so against him coming with them, but at the same time, it felt like they didn't trust him anymore. Like they were trying to shut him out. Even though he knew better than that, the dalmatian was still hurt.

"Guys… you don't trust me?" Marshall whispered. "Am I… not good enough?"

Now it was everyone else's turn to feel wounded. "Oh, don't be ridiculous, Marshall..." Chase replied.

"Marshall, that's not what we think and you know it." Rocky added quietly. "I stand by my saying that you're the world's greatest fire pup… But… we can't lose you… not again..."

"Marshall, please don't say you think that..." Skye whined. "We're all scared to death of losing you again… It doesn't matter how dangerous this rescue might be… If there's even a little chance you might get hurt… A chance we might lose you again… None of us wanna take it..."

Marshall had suspected as much. It was nice to know that they didn't doubt his abilities, but he still hated that it felt like they were trying to coddle him.

"Guys, you know how much being a fire pup means to me." Marshall said calmly. "I know it's way scarier thinking about how one of us could die if something goes wrong now that it's kinda happened… But it doesn't matter how scared we all are. If we all just stayed home because of how dangerous something probably was, we wouldn't do any rescues at all! Please, guys. Lemme come with you… Just this once… I swear on my dad's spots I'll be super-duper careful. I won't let anything happen to me… I'll take things slow, I won't be clumsy, anything. Pup Scout's honour."

Marshall prayed that the pups would at least take his plea seriously. He'd made it clear how much his work meant to him, and the pups at least seemed to be giving it serious consideration. But then, it'd take a lot to get past their fears. Odds are, they probably weren't expecting any rescues for days. But after a period of silence thick enough to cut with a knife, Chase finally spoke.

"Marshall… Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE this is what you want?"

Marshall stared into Chase's amber eyes with a surprising amount of dedication. "Positive."

"You're sure you're sure?"

"One hundred percent."

Another pause preceded Chase sighing. "Marshall… PLEASE be careful. Stay as safe as you can if you get picked. And if we wanna help you, please don't turn us down?"

Marshall nodded. "Deal."

The remaining pups all exchanged nervous glances with each other, still unsure of whether they should keep trying to veto Marshall's pleas or not.

"Well..." Rocky sighed. "We can't keep delaying this. Let's not keep Ryder waiting any longer than we already have."

Skye sighed as well. "Right..."

Suddenly, the voice of a certain chihuahua came from the elevator.

"Guys! C'mon!" Tracker demanded. "We've got an emergency, here! Are you all waiting for a pizza or something?! Get the lead out! ¡Venga!"

Realising that they'd likely wasted a huge amount of time arguing, the pups finally saw fit to head for the elevator. Perhaps more proof that they weren't ready for whatever came their way. And despite the extreme hurry they were all in, surprisingly, Marshall made it into the elevator in an orderly fashion. Not that anyone was in the mood to point this out.

"Guys, you know we heard that, right?" Everest piped up, causing everyone to jump.

"Guys, please." Chase cut in. "This is Marshall's choice, not ours. We'll keep him safe every step of the way, but in the end, we can't stop him."

"We didn't wanna try." Rubble replied bluntly.

"The only thing we weally wanna say is: BE. CAWEFUL. Please." Zuma added firmly.

"Don't worry, Zuma." Marshall reassured. "I will. More than ever. I mean, I'd pinky swear, but have you ever tried doing that with no fingers?"

As the elevator doors finally closed and the elevator began to ascend to the briefing room, the pups, much to Marshall's shock, actually laughed. Despite all of the tension that they were feeling at that moment, it was good to see that Marshall was as good at breaking it as ever. To the point that when the elevator finally reached the top, the pups were all in surprisingly-high spirits as they bounded out of the elevator and sat in their usual spots.

"Paw Patrol ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase shouted, perhaps a little louder than he was intending.

The remaining pups, however, couldn't help but notice that Ryder still looked decidedly sick and tired. A mere shadow of who he really was. Most of them wondered if Ryder was even in a fit state to lead them at all. The rain outside continued to pour even as Ryder began his speech.

"Pups… I'll make this quick. Chickaletta's stuck in some trees. We need to get her down." Ryder instructed curtly.

The pups found themselves slightly dizzy at how quickly and flatly Ryder delivered his briefing. He was usually never this blunt with them.

"Chase." Ryder began. "We'll need you and your net in case something goes wrong getting Chickaletta down from the trees."

"Chase is on the case!" Chase replied, outwardly happy, inwardly concerned.

"Skye. We'll need your harness to get Chickaletta down from the trees."

"(The heck?!)" Skye thought. "E-err… This pup's gotta fly!"

Everyone noticed from Skye's starting stutter that she thought that this wasn't a good idea at all. And it didn't take much thinking to figure out why. Ignoring the fact that flying in the rain made it hard to see much of anything, her harness was surely bound to get caught on some trees at some point.

"Alright, let's go." Ryder said flatly, getting ready to move to the pole.

"Wait a minute!" Marshall suddenly shouted, grabbing the room's attention. "Ryder, sir. Sorry to interrupt, but wouldn't it be easier if I brought my ladder along? I mean, I could help Chickaletta down, easy."

"Absolutely not!" Ryder barked with a surprising degree of force, frightening the pups. "This is way too dangerous for you, Marshall! You're staying here!"

"Ryder, I've handled worse than this kinda thing! I swear I'll be super-careful!"

"No! The last time something worse came up, we lost you! I'm not letting that happen again!"

"But it won't! I learn from my mistakes, Ryder! I already swore to the pups I'd be careful! I don't break my promises!"

"I don't care! Anything could happen! You! Are! Staying! Here! That's an order!"

"But I'm better than that! Why don't you believe me?!"

"MARSHALL!! THAT'S ENOUGH!!" Ryder bellowed, shocking the entire room into silence. "YOU'RE NOT COMING ON THIS RESCUE AND THAT! IS! FINAL! I'M THE LEADER, HERE! YOU'RE! NOT!!!"

No-one could bring themselves to say anything from the sheer terror they were feeling. The amount of times that Ryder had gotten this vicious with them could be counted on one hand, and all of those times were from his depressed tongue-lashings in the past few days. Everyone stared at the furious-looking Ryder before them, completely unable to move and scared beyond measure.

And slowly, Ryder's rage melted from his face, to be replaced by horror, dizziness and the urge to be ill. It took a while, but what he'd just said had finally sunk in with him, too. His angry glare vanished, replaced with a wide-eyed look of appalled remorse. He looked around the room to see eight pairs of eyes burning into him with looks of terror. Ryder found his voice failing him for a while before he finally dropped his gaze to the floor and choked out a sentence.

"...let's just go."

Without another word, Ryder ran across the room and jumped onto the pole, ungracefully sliding down it faster than usual. Upon seeing this, Chase looked around the room with a surprising look of panic, unable to fathom what to do next. He looked like a deer in the headlights. Until eventually, Chase slowly dragged himself over to the slide and jumped onto it, but not before giving Marshall the saddest look he'd given him in a long while.

Skye, for her part, slowly settled back into a familiar feeling of rage, glancing at the teary-eyed dalmatian, and then at the other pups, and then at the slide. Upon looking at the slide, she paused, only to growl and let out a frustrated yell as she pounded the ground with her paw, before storming over to the slide and hopping down it.

With both pups gone, attention quickly turned to Marshall, who hadn't moved his gaze from where Ryder was standing. His eyes were clearly welling up with tears as he stared ahead. Not once had Ryder even spoken to him like that, and his words had crushed the pup's heart into powder. Beginning to break down, Marshall tore his helmet and Pup Pack from his person, angrily cast his vest aside and burst into tears, charging into the elevator and hammering the button hard enough for it to practically crack. The dalmatian was still hammering the floor with his paws in tearful frustration as the elevator took him out of sight.

"Marshall!" Tracker cried.

"Mawshall! Wait!" Zuma shouted after him.

"Marshall! Don't go!" Rubble yelled.

"Marshall, no! Wait up!" Everest screamed.

"Oh, no-!" Rocky stammered. "Everyone, wait up, I'm going after him!"

Without thinking, Rocky blazed his own trail to the slide and practically dived down it, flying to the bottom as fast as he possibly could, and having a hard landing in his own truck, just in time to see the vehicles of the chosen pups vanishing over the horizon. Recovering from the bumpy landing, Rocky hopped to the ground to see Marshall come tearing out of the Lookout crying, running towards the rear of the island.

"Marshall! Stop! Please!" Rocky shouted over the rain as he took off after Marshall. For once, Rocky didn't have a solitary care about getting wet. All he was concerned with was his friend and brother's wellbeing.

About 20 minutes later, the rescue hadn't gone much better. In fact, Ryder, Chase and Skye would likely number it as amongst the Paw Patrol's worst, if any of them had cared to rank it. The mood throughout could be described as awkward at best and moribund at worst. Chase would usually be delighted to put his siren on, but here, he simply couldn't bring himself to do so. Perhaps worse is that even when he was directly spoken to, the shepherd didn't utter so much as a peep, avoiding looking at his leader at all, clearly haunted and saddened at Ryder's outburst.

Skye, however, was the exact opposite. Unless she had to focus on where she was going, not once did she stop glaring at Ryder from on high. For the second time, Skye was absolutely furious with him. Having had experience with outbursts such as that, her stomach turned at the mere concept of Ryder yelling at one of them the way he did, and even moreso when that one happened to be the pup they had all thought dead, and when the loss of said pup had sent them all into a dark pit of despair. One could be forgiven for thinking that the cockapoo was trying to burn a hole in Ryder's head with the power of her disgusted, scornful glare.

And although Ryder's gaze remained solidly-locked on the task at hand, he didn't have to look at his pups to feel their utter hatred for him. Almost as soon as Marshall had come back and they had taken turns making a fuss over each other was Ryder now screaming at the one he loved for no good reason. Ryder saw Marshall's heart break very clearly in the dalmatian's eyes, and he just couldn't get the scene out of his head. With every passing second, the boy's hatred of himself grew more and more. As did his conviction that he was a terrible person unfit to even look at his pups, let alone care for them.

Unless Ryder had to give a direct order, he kept his mouth firmly shut, but he still felt Chase's disappointment and Skye's rage burning into him every step of the way. Skye, of course, struggled to get her harness through the cluster of trees to the oddly-calm Chickaletta, especially in the high winds. And of course, it didn't go as well as they'd hoped, thanks to the harness knocking Chickaletta out of the tree and into Chase's waiting net. Mercifully, the chicken was unhurt, with Mayor Goodway personally making sure of the fact with Mayor Humdinger at her side.

"Well, thank you for your help, Ryder, pups..." Mayor Goodway began, still holding her purse chicken in her arms. "...but where's Marshall? Is he alright? Did he not want to come?"

And with the Mayor's innocent question, Ryder felt like he'd been punched in the gut. As was evident by the boy cringing and looking like he wanted to vomit. Ryder couldn't conceal his feelings; a fact very quickly seized on by the two mayors.

"Ryder..." Mayor Humdinger began with an unusually stern voice. "...is there something you're not telling us?"

"...I… E-Er… M-Marshall, he..." Ryder stammered. "...we… we had a fight..."

Ryder's last sentence was less spoken and more squeaked in shame. Chase and Skye looked on from outside of their vehicles, listening closely to Ryder's words.

"It was more than that!" Skye cut in, unable to hold herself back any further. "Ryder yelled at him! Marshall WANTED to come with us! He wanted to be part of this! But Ryder stopped him and yelled at him when he tried to put his paw down!"

Chase stared in astonishment at Skye. Surprised, but not objecting. But her words had a deep impact on Ryder, who couldn't stop a tear from running down his cheek. Nor could he stop some strangled sobs from escaping his mouth.

"And that's why you're here now, dude."

A voice caught everyone's attention. Looking in the direction of it, they noticed the unusual sight of Jake walking up to the group with a surprisingly-serious expression on his face, Carlos at his side.

"...Jake…? Carlos…?" Ryder squeaked.

"Ryder. We need to talk." Carlos added sternly.

"G-Guys… Please, I-"

"NO." Jake barked with a firmness unbecoming of the cool-headed skier, making Ryder feel even more helpless than he already was. "All this time we've been at your door trying to talk to you and you keep pushing us out! And now look what it's done to you! You're a total wreck, and now you're yelling at the people you love! We know you feel bad, but if you keep shutting yourself off, nothing's gonna get better! So for once, we're all going to talk, and you're going to listen!"

Ryder stared at Jake with tears in his eyes. Not once had Jake ever spoken to anyone like that, but now Ryder could tell that there was no deterring Jake from talking to him now that the two stood face to face again.

"I know what you're thinking, Ryder." Carlos added. "Si, this was a set up. We faked this rescue to get you out of your room. But before you yell at us, if you hadn't shut yourself off, we wouldn't have had to do this! All we were trying to do was help you before things got worse again! We were all so worried about you, but all you did was leave us to it!"

"That's quite enough, Carlos!" Goodway interrupted, noticing that Ryder was about to burst into tears, before taking a gentler tone. "Ryder… We all want to see you get better… And talking to you through your door wasn't working. We know that the thought of losing Marshall isn't just going to go away. But you've been bottling it up for so long that it's making you lash out at everyone… Unless you talk things out with us AND your pups… well, there's no telling how far down the rabbit hole you'll go."

"Be honest with us, Ryder." Humdinger added. "How bad did this fight with Marshall get?"

"...w-well..." Ryder whimpered. "...i-it... it got a little heated, I guess..."

After the five second ensuing silence, Ryder dared to look up at the group again. He swiftly wished he hadn't, owing to the unimpressed looks everyone was giving him, complete with Mayor Goodway raising a skeptical eyebrow at him.

"...OK, A LOT HEATED!!!" Ryder yelled, before clasping his hands over his mouth, realising that he was yelling again.

"...the prosecution rests." Humdinger replied.

Goodway slowly laid a hand on Ryder's shoulder. "You were scared, weren't you? You were afraid that if Marshall came on a rescue, you risked losing him all over again, didn't you?"

Ryder sniffled, realising that Mayor Goodway had struck the nail on the head. He could only give a protracted whimper and squeeze his eyes shut, teetering on the edge of a complete emotional meltdown. The pot had been boiling for days, and the lid had stayed on it for far too long. Now it was about to blow.

"...'s..." Ryder squeaked.

"What was that?" Carlos practically demanded.

"I think we all heard him, dude." Jake swiftly cut him off.

"Just as I thought." Humdinger concluded.

Mayor Goodway moved to put an arm around Ryder's shoulders.

"Come on. Let's go inside and talk." she whispered, before looking to the pups. "And pups. I think Ryder needs to be alone for this. Can you both please wait here?"

Chase and Skye both desperately wanted to reply in the negative. They really didn't want to leave Ryder alone after finally getting to see him, and they were both done waiting around for something to happen. But the two, knowing that Ryder needed this badly, swallowed heavily, and slowly nodded, deciding to sit by their vehicles as the rain slowly came to a halt around them, watching on as Ryder disappeared with the group into City Hall.

The sun had just finished setting in Adventure Bay, plunging the town into darkness. And the pups had a feeling that they were in for an incredibly-long night.


	24. ...Lies Absolute Despair

20 minutes earlier, the heavy rain and raging ocean in front of him matched Marshall's mood perfectly. A mix of aggression and sadness. At the rear of the Lookout, the damatian's tears continued to fade away into the rain no matter how hard he cried. He was less concerned with the fact that he felt like he was being coddled and more with the fact that it seemed that the owner he trusted and loved so much didn't trust him not to get hurt anymore. And any attempt to get him to believe otherwise just got him slapped down.

Marshall was too distraught to even think straight. Would he ever perform a rescue again? With Ryder's trust in him so obviously shattered, the answer was most likely "no". What would his life be like if he was never to rescue again? Would he be replaced after all? What would he do with himself? The questions flew around his head, but Marshall was simply crying too hard to even answer them.

Marshall's crying, however, faded slightly as he felt a wet nose poking against his side.

"Hey, Marshall..." Rocky whispered soothingly.

But despite it getting quieter, Marshall's sobbing continued, even as Rocky laid down next to him and put his paws around him. As disgusting as it was to feel their wet coats rubbing against each other, Rocky nuzzled Marshall without hesitation. Rocky at least took heart in his presence alone clearly providing some comfort.

"So..." Rocky began, unsure of quite how to begin. "...that was something, huh?"

"...something…?" Marshall whimpered. "...s-something…?"

"(Oh boy. Wrong answer.)" Rocky thought.

"SOMETHING?!! RYDER'S KEEPING ME OFF THE TEAM AND ALL YOU CAN CALL THIS IS 'SOMETHING'?!! H-He doesn't trust me anymore! He doesn't… doesn't want me to be a fire pup anymore!"

"Marshall..."

"Wh-What am I going to do?! R-Ryder totally hates me now! O-O-One accident and he… he doesn't w-want me to be on the team anymore!"

"Marshall..."

"Wh-What am I here for if I can't be a fire pup?! I-I don't even know if Ryder… if he even wants me here anymore!"

"Marshall."

"A-And it's all because… because I'm so CLUMSY AND STUPID that I can't stay on a ladder!

"Marshall!"

"Sh-Should I just leave?! IS THAT WHAT HE WANTS?!!"

"MARSHALL!!"

Rocky didn't like raising his voice, but when he had to, he sometimes surprised even himself. The mix had a deceptively-strong voice when he yelled, and thankfully it was enough to snap the ranting dalmatian out of his angry diatribe. Once the soaking-wet Marshall had fallen quiet, staring at Rocky with shining, tearful eyes, Rocky took a slow breath out, then in, and began to speak more calmly.

"That's not how Ryder feels and you know it." Rocky began. "You know Ryder. He doesn't hate any of us. Can you name a single time he's ever hated us? Ever?"

"...right now, maybe?" Marshall replied bitterly, looking down and to the side.

"Don't be silly. He doesn't hate you, me, or anyone. But there is one person he hates more than anyone right now..." Rocky paused, as if for effect, letting the rain patter down around them.

"...himself."

Marshall looked back at Rocky, still shedding tears, but with eyes of curiosity and surprise.

"...wh-what…?"

"You wanna know why Ryder screamed at you? Why he was so stuck on not letting you go with him?"

"...c-cause… cause-"

"Because he can't bear the thought of losing you again. None of us can. Why do you think we all tried to stop you coming with us the first time? The last time you went on a rescue, you nearly died! Heck, for three days we all thought you had!"

"B-But I-! I would've been careful-!"

"We know. But that's not good enough right now. Marshall, we all just got you back. It's way too soon for us to even think about sending you back out there when the last rescue nearly killed you. None of us can tell what could happen out there."

"...b-but..." Marshall whimpered. "...that's… th-that's how its always been..."

Rocky sighed heavily. "Maybe. We're all kinda jittery right now..."

Rocky stopped when he noticed the speckled pup staring at him with an unimpressed, tearful look.

"...OK, a LOT jittery, but that's not the point."

"Th-Then… Wh-What is?"

"The point is: Ryder had to watch as you fell into that river. He had to watch one of the ones he loves so much die right in front of him. And he's not blaming anyone for it but himself. We were all hurt after you fell into that river… But Ryder? Well, Ryder got hurt the worst of all. He's so angry and upset that he just… well, he's taking it out on everyone around him, even when he doesn't mean it."

Marshall sniffled. "...h-how… h… h-how do you know…?"

Rocky swallowed before whimpering. "Because I was there… While you were gone, some of us tried to talk to Ryder… But… It always ended badly."

* * *

_The raging storm was nothing short of an ill omen. But it also served as an excellent indicator of the mood in Adventure Bay. The previous day, Mayor Goodway had valiantly gone on the airwaves to give the bad news: One of the Paw Patrol was dead._

_And just like that, the mood in the usually-cheerful town had taken a swift nosedive. How Mayor Goodway kept her composure when delivering such awful news was a mystery to all, but it wasn't a mystery that any were in the mood to contemplate. Especially not Rocky, who'd had his fair share of breakdowns already. But with Marshall gone forever, something told him that the breakdowns would just keep on coming as he rose to the Lookout's top floor to a flash of lightning, followed a few seconds later by a roar of thunder._

_It was almost as if the sky itself was shedding tears in solidarity with the town. The rain was coming down extremely heavily, leaving Rocky in no position to go outside. Not that he'd want to, since he'd only have to look at the memorial for his dearly-departed friend and brother again. But he had someone else on his mind as well. Someone who he had the feeling was suffering more than any of them. After all, he was one of the two who was forced to watch Marshall fall to his doom right in front of them._

_Ever since he'd come tearing across the driveway bawling his eyes out, Rocky had seen neither hide nor hair of Ryder. But then, it made sense. Ryder had made it clear in the past that the pups were more than pets to him; they were technically his children. When thinking about it in that way, his reaction to losing one of them made perfect sense. Not even an adult would be able to take a death in their family well._

_And Ryder's mood was perfectly clear the moment the thunder subsided enough for Rocky to hear the crying from the boy's bedroom door. Even from the other side of the building, Ryder was crying loudly enough to be heard easily. But even if Rocky couldn't hear him, Ryder's pain was somehow evident to him. Somehow, knowing that Ryder was in so much pain made Rocky feel even worse than he already did._

_Rocky's apprehension only grew as he drew closer to Ryder's door, and the boy's sobbing got louder. Skye had already reported speaking to Ryder, only to get yelled at like never before and driven away. Rocky could tell that Skye wanted to break down crying, but was somehow keeping her tears back. How she managed it was something that Rocky couldn't figure out. But right now, the pup was focused on speaking to his owner. No matter what Ryder said, Rocky would hold steady. That boy needed his family. And nothing was going to deter Rocky from seeing this through._

_Slowly, Rocky reached Ryder's bedroom door. And despite the mixed breed's hesitance in him being at a critical level, Rocky knew he'd regret not speaking to his owner more than he would trying to avoid his potential wrath. Fighting his natural instinct to just leave him alone, Rocky slowly raised his paw and quickly rapped on the locked dog door three times. Though Ryder didn't seem to react at all to the knocks, simply continuing to cry as loudly as ever._

" _R-Ryder?" Rocky stammered. "You, uh… Y-You doing OK?"_

" _Go away!" Ryder snapped tearfully._

_Rocky couldn't deny that Ryder's retort hurt, but he swallowed his pain all the same and breathed in. "Ryder, I can't! This isn't good for you!"_

" _None of your business! I-I said go away!"_

" _It's EVERYONE'S business! Look, all of us are feeling the same way, here! We all wanna help you!"_

" _Th-There's no helping me! Th-This is all my fault! I know it! You know it! E-E-Everyone knows it-!"_

" _Ryder, none of us blame you for this! Th-This was all an accident!"_

" _Accident or not, i-it doesn't change what happened, a-a-and it doesn't change what a horrible leader and owner I am!"_

" _You're not, though!" Now the tears were beginning to spill from Rocky's eyes. "W-We all feel horrible, b-but nobody blames anyone for losing Marshall, but-"_

" _ **DON'T SAY THAT NAME!!!** "_

_And just like that, Rocky froze in place. His heart only barely managed to beat for fear of crumbling to pieces and the mixed breed's stomach seized up completely as his tears intensified from Ryder screaming so hatefully at him._

" _You're trying to help?! Then why are you so dead-set on bringing up me getting a pup killed?! Nothing you say is gonna bring anyone back, or get rid of my screw-ups or make me a better person! I don't need you reminding me how weak I am! I know that already! Marshall is only dead because of me! Every word out of your mouth is making everything worse! And things are only going to get even worse the longer you stay here, because that's all you're good for! NOW LEAVE! ME! **ALONE!!!** "_

_And with Ryder's final words, Rocky's vow to himself crumbled, along with his fragile heart. Unable to stop himself, Rocky completely broke down sobbing, struggling under the weight of his own grief to even move away from Ryder's door, the boy now having fallen entirely silent save for some laboured breathing. As if the mix needed any further sadness as he slowly dragged himself towards the elevator again, crying the entire way, now he had to deal with the fact that his attempt to get through to his despondent owner had completely and utterly failed._

_But as Rocky laid down in the middle of the elevator floor, finally proving unable to stand anymore, he could swear that he could hear a distant sound. Even over his own crying, Rocky knew that he could hear something._

_Something that sounded like deep, grief-wracked sobbing._

* * *

Marshall's tears had finally dried as Rocky finished his tale. But the spotted pup's bloodshot eyes were close to falling out of his head.

"Rocky… I-I had no idea..." Marshall whispered in horror.

"Now do you get it? You see why Ryder put his foot down the way he did?" Rocky replied sadly.

"Because he was feeling like that?"

"You got it. I don't think he's stopped feeling like that even since you came back..."

Marshall fell silent for a second. "...you know? I think you're right. I mean, he hasn't stopped avoiding us ever since he went back to the Lookout a couple days ago..."

"And he's obviously had a lot of nightmares..."

"And the couple of times he's talked to anyone, he's just lashed out at them..."

"And he obviously feels terrible about it all..."

"And that's not counting all the time he's spent taking it out on himself..."

Marshall let out a long, sad whine. He was still upset that Ryder would scream at him the way he did, but somehow knowing the reason behind it made him feel even worse. Now it was crystal-clear that Ryder needed help more than anyone else. Marshall felt like they were neglecting him somehow, and the fact that Ryder was actively forgoing contact with anyone was cold comfort to him.

"We've gotta do something..." Marshall concluded.

"But… we've been trying for days now…" Rocky countered sadly. "Heck, last night was as close as we'd gotten to getting through to him! Jake and Carlos have been stopping us from seeing him and while you were gone he just screamed at us when we tried to talk to him!"

"What, you don't want him to feel better?"

"Of course I want him to feel better! But I'm just saying we've been trying and failing for days! I… I don't know if we can get through to him, anymore..."

"We can and will." Marshall shot back immediately. "When Ryder gets back, I'm gonna give it a little while, and I'm going to talk to him, whether he likes it or not."

"B-But Marshall, then… then you might get yelled at..."

"Don't care. He's already yelled at me once. Ryder needs us. More than ever. And I'm gonna make him see that."

Rocky could only stare at Marshall with his brown eyes wider than ever. He was amazed at how stubborn Marshall could be. Losing his brother-figure seemed to make him forget that. But despite it all, Rocky was proud of Marshall. Maybe their stubborn fire pup could finally crack Ryder's shell after all.

"Marshall… You're really something, you know that?" Rocky asked warmly, squeezing Marshall even more tightly. "I'm… I'm so happy you came back…"

Marshall worked his front paws free and squeezed Rocky back. "Hey, so am I… And you know I live for helping people."

"Can't keep a good pup down, right?"

"Right… But, er… Do you wanna go inside? I mean, how're you out here with me in all this rain?"

Rocky snorted. "Bah, I don't care about that. It's just rain. When my friends are feeling sad, that's way more important."

In shock, Marshall broke their hug and took a couple of clumsy steps backwards. "Err… Rocky… you OK? You sound feverish. Should I go get my EMT Pack?"

Rocky giggled. "Well, if it'll make you feel any better..."

Perhaps quicker than he intended, Marshall made a hasty turn and quickly trotted towards the Lookout with Rocky in tow. But upon arrival inside, he was greeted with a sea of concerned faces.

"Marshall..." Everest whispered.

And upon realising what had happened to give them such concern, Marshall's eyes shot open, before he cringed heavily, turning his head away from them and looking at the floor.

"Agh- Ohh, man… I-I totally ran out on you all… I-I'm so sorry..." Marshall whispered.

"Oh, olvídalo, Marshall. Forget it." Tracker replied. "All we're worried about right now is whether you're OK."

Marshall sighed, before giving a soft smile to the group. "I'm good."

"You sure about that?" Rubble interjected. "I don't think I've ever seen Ryder get like that before..."

"Guys, it's fine. Really." Rocky cut in, walking in behind Marshall. "We both talked it out, and Marshall's feeling way better. Right, man?"

Marshall looked at Rocky. "Right!"

Zuma sighed with relief, along with the other pups. "Well, dudes, it's good that Mawshall's OK again, but you might wanna get some towels. You look like a couple of dwowned wats!"

"Wait… We do?" Rocky asked, looking at himself and pawing at his coat. "But… we were… out… talking… the rain-!"

And immediately, it was as if Rocky was a different pup, thrashing around and shaking himself off in disgust.

"EUUUUGH-!! Wet! Wet! Wet!"

And immediately, the room exploded into peals of laughter from all except the hydrophobic mixed breed. None of them particularly cared that they were getting showered by the wet pup frantically shaking himself off. All they cared about in that moment was the laugh that they all shared. Because once again, it somehow felt like things were, however slowly, going back to normal for the once-broken family.

"That's our Rocky!" Marshall laughed fondly.

The period of jubilation, however, was incredibly brief. After Rocky had toweled off, the mood had immediately dropped back to a sombre, anticipatory one. Inevitably, Marshall's eventual talk with Ryder was going to get incredibly ugly no matter what the dalmatian might end up saying. If Ryder had demonstrated one thing, it was that he was not emotionally-stable by any stretch of the term after what had happened in the last few days, and as prepared as Marshall was for it, something told him that he would never be ready for what Ryder was going to say in return.

Time had slowed to a crawl as the pups waited for Ryder, Chase and Skye to return. For Marshall, it felt a little like he was waiting to face his execution. Occasionally he would exchange words with the other pups, but no-one had much to say, and nothing that was said allayed his nerves any. Everyone simply laid listlessly around the Lookout's ground floor, awaiting the inevitable.

And eventually, the inevitable arrived. Ryder came walking through the Lookout first. He glanced around and caught sight of the remaining pups, but looked away quickly enough from each of them that one could be forgiven for thinking that he'd just looked straight at the sun. He was obviously fighting to keep a neutral expression as he reached the elevator and ascended to the upper level with his back turned. Soon after the elevator rose out of sight, he was followed in by a german shepherd and a cockapoo, both looking incredibly worried. And upon catching sight of the spotted pup, Chase and Skye both made a beeline for him.

"You OK?" Chase asked worriedly.

"E-Err… Kinda." Marshall replied uncertainly.

"You don't sound OK..." Skye observed sadly.

"W-Well I'm waiting to go and talk to Ryder! I'm terrified!" Marshall explained.

Chase and Skye looked at each other. "Guess you talked it out with everyone, huh?" Chase asked.

"Yeah..." Marshall replied with a sigh.

"Well, that's good, but that's not the point right now." Skye explained. "Turns out that rescue was a set up. See..."

Skye went on to elaborate on the group's intervention and how Jake and Carlos had set Ryder up to finally talk about how he felt.

"...he looked totally crushed about everything." Skye concluded. "Yelling at you, running away from everyone, how he treated… well, all of us…"

"I didn't know Jake and Carlos had it in them..." Marshall whispered in shock.

"Neither did we, but he needs this, right?" Chase replied. "We think he's gonna try and talk to you, but, well…" Chase looked down, his voice lowering with fear and sadness. "...neither of us know how it's gonna go. Something tells me that this will NOT be pretty…"

"That's what I was afraid of." Marshall said sadly. "I don't think I'm ready for this… at all..."

"None of us are, Marshall." Skye whispered. "But we're right behind you. Right now that's all we can offer... even if I do wish we could offer more..."

"I'll take whatever help I can get. Even if it is only good luck wishes." Marshall replied with a small smile.

But the speckled pup's mood immediately went back to terrified when he noticed his Pup Tag lighting up. For a while, there was simply heavy breathing, which was soon followed by a wavering voice.

"M-Marshall…?" Ryder stammered. "C-Can I- er… Y-You, er… come up… talk… to... me?"

Ryder's final word was barely audible and came out as more of a scared squeak. As their line of communication cut off, Marshall felt every pair of eyes on him, and felt like fainting from fear.

"L-Looks like it's time..." Chase stammered, afraid of what was going to happen.

"Go for it, Marshall..." Skye whispered fearfully. "We're… W-We're with you..."

As much as Marshall hated to admit it, Skye's words were completely empty to him. Ryder was obviously a mere poke away from completely erupting, and even if that was what it took to finally get the boy to open up again, there was no way that anyone could be ready for such a thing. As much as he subconsciously attempted to stop himself, Marshall pushed on. It was a herculean effort to simply get on to the elevator when it finally came, and even moreso to stop himself from attempting to bolt off of it as it rose up. Looking back, the dalmatian felt a huge amount of pairs of eyes on him once again, with all of the pups looking scared and worried. And yet somehow, he was still able to pick up on their silent encouragement.


	25. Inner Inferno

Too much was running through Marshall's head as he slowly approached Ryder's bedroom door. How badly was Ryder going to explode? How were the other pups feeling? How badly did watching Ryder lose his temper affect Chase and Skye? Marshall's thoughts were only interrupted when he walked nose-first into Ryder's bedroom door. Breathing heavily to attempt to steel his nerves, Marshall finally bit the bullet and hopped through the door. For a second after he got his bearings, it looked like Ryder, who was currently sat on the edge of his bed, was looking at him for a brief moment. But a brief moment was all it was, since Ryder, in the blink of an eye, had his eyes firmly locked back on on the floor.

"U-Uhhh..." Marshall began falteringly. "R-Ryder…? I-I, er-"

Marshall found himself cut off as Ryder swiftly raised a hand, still without even looking at him. The silence from the boy was deafening. It felt like an eternity before Ryder finally began to speak, albeit oddly quietly.

"Let's just ignore for a second what a failure of an owner I am… How terrible a person I am… Why I don't deserve to even have pets..."

"Wh-?!" Marshall spluttered. "R-Ryder that's totally wro-"

"QUIET." Ryder's head snapped up to glare straight at Marshall.

His voice was unusually-harsh, and also booming and intimidating enough to silence the pup where he stood. And noticing the expression of fear on Marshall's face, Ryder swiftly looked back at the floor with an expression of pain.

"...please, just let me talk..."

"...I'm listening..." Marshall squeaked.

Ryder swallowed with the expression of someone swallowing a mouthful of glass before speaking again.

"I ran away for a reason, you know… You… probably know this, but I ran away because I'd totally failed you… As your owner, I'm supposed to protect you pups… To guide you… To take care of you… And I couldn't do any of that… For three days… I thought I'd let you die right in front of me..."

Ryder's voice was completely monotone, up until his last word, where it had noticeably started to crack. Marshall could only continue to listen on in terrified dread.

"So… I couldn't even look any of you pups in the face… Or even talk to you… A-All everyone did was… was remind me of the pup I couldn't save… th-the pup I had to watch fall to his death... R-Rocky and… S-Skye… I-I didn't want to yell at them… But they… they were hurting me more than they thought by trying to talk to me… You… You mean so much to them, Marshall… Like they all mean so much to you… B-But… I-I… I let you die out there… I'd… failed every single one of you… I… I'm totally unfit for… f-for taking care of any of you…"

Ryder had now begun to shake. Slightly, but visibly.

"I-I know th-that… E-Everybody would say the same things to me… Give me all the classic lines..."

"'Classic lines'?" Marshall parroted.

Ryder took a shaky breath in. He was obviously fighting to keep his composure.

"I know how you feel."

"Time heals all wounds."

"He's always in your heart."

"It's all just God's plan."

"It gets better."

"He was such a good guy."

"He'll never really die as long as you remember him.

Somehow, every word from the boy's mouth was progressively-coated with more and more venom. His hands had curled into fists, both of which were shaking violently from the sheer pressure of Ryder's grip.

"Wh-Why do you say that…?" Marshall squeaked, obviously scared of what the answer was going to be.

"B-Because… Because..."

Ryder was very clearly about to blow a fuse. Slowly, he raised his fists above his head.

"Because it's all the same fake… empty… INSINCERE… OVERPLAYED… **CRAP** PEOPLE THREW AT ME WHEN MY GRANDPA DIED!!!"

Ryder's voice quickly escalated into furious screaming as he violently brought his fists down on his thighs with enough force to leave bruises. Marshall gasped as the foul word left Ryder's lips. Not once had he ever used language like that with any of them. He only wondered where in the world Ryder could've picked it up from, astonished at just how upset Ryder could be that he'd resort to such harsh words.

"PEOPLE ALL SAY THE SAME THINGS! LIKE IT'LL JUST MAGICALLY MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER, OR, OR IT'LL UNDO ALL THE STUPID THINGS THAT LED TO YOU DYING IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Ryder's head had snapped up to look directly at the dalmatian before him. It was like a car crash. Marshall was totally unable to look away from his owner's enraged glare. A horrible feeling festered in the pup's stomach. Somehow, the little voice in his head telling him that Ryder wasn't angry at him specifically did little to comfort him.

"WELL THAT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING! IT'S ALL JUST EMPTY WORDS! NOTHING WOULD CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU DIED AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE BECAUSE I FAILED YOU WHEN YOU NEEDED ME MOST! I'M SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF YOU AND I JUST HAVE TO SIT BY AND WATCH YOU FALL TO YOUR DEATH! LIVING THE REST OF MY LIFE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING I COULDN'T SAVE YOU!"

"B-But-!" Marshall stammered, somehow finding his voice again. "It really wasn't your fault! At all!"

"SEE?! YOU SOUND JUST LIKE THEM!" Ryder roared. His face was slowly turning a vivid shade of scarlet. "ALL THEY SAY IS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO HELP! LIKE THAT MAKES EVERYTHING OK! THEY'RE NOT THE ONES WHO GOT A PUP THEY LOVE KILLED! THEY'RE NOT THE ONE WHO WATCHED ONE OF THE TOWN'S PROTECTORS FALL DOWN A GORGE BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T SAVE THEM! DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT DOES TO SOMEONE?! YOU KNOW WHAT ALL THEIR WORDS DO?! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

"Wh-What are they supposed to say?! I mean, the Paw Patrol are considered heroes, don't you think they wouldn't know what to do with themselves if one of us died?! They'd be in a bad way, too!"

Marshall had too much adrenaline coursing through his veins to realise that what he said was only going to make things worse. Ryder slowly got off of the bed with his shoulders arched, his fists clenched and his arms stuck straight out to the side of him. Now Ryder's face had fully turned to a furious crimson, with tears of rage pooling in his brown eyes.

"...I… DON'T… **WANT** HEROES!!" Ryder screamed. "I WANT MY PUPS! 'HERO' IS JUST A FANCY WORD FOR 'CORPSE'! I KNOW I'M SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT ADVENTURE BAY, BUT YOU PUPS ARE MY FAMILY! IF I LOST ONE OF YOU, I DON'T CARE HOW THEY'D FEEL!"

It really was remarkable just how much Ryder looked like a young child throwing a grief-fuelled tantrum. Now Ryder's tears were openly flowing down his face. Marshall couldn't help but feel intimidated by such an ugly sight. And by Ryder's unusually-barbed words. And yet, all the pup could do was listen on in fearful silence.

"AND YET, PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT ME! THEY WANT TO TALK TO ME! AND ALL I'M DOING IS PUSHING THEM AWAY! IF I'M A GOOD PERSON, WHY DO I KEEP RUNNING AWAY?! WHY DO I KEEP HURTING EVERYONE?! THAT'S ALL I'M GOOD FOR! I WANNA STOP HURTING PEOPLE! AND I WANNA STOP HURTING ALL OF YOU! BUT I HAVE NO IDEA **HOW!!!** "

Ryder sank to his knees, as if his outpouring of grief was too heavy for him to bear. Now he was looking less angry, and more despondent, with the tears now pouring from his eyes. Marshall felt his heart beginning to crack.

"I… I'M NOT A GOOD LEADER, I'M NOT A GOOD OWNER, I'N NOT EVEN A GOOD PERSON! I-I-I… I PUSH PEOPLE AWAY, I LET PUPS... D-D-DIE-! I-I… I… I-! I…! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Ryder fell forward like a toppled statue, his hands hitting the floor with a thud as he collapsed onto all fours, wailing loudly as he flopped down and curled into a sobbing ball. Finally, words failed him completely and the boy broke down. Bawling like a helpless, vulnerable child. Ryder was the last person that would be known for crying, so to see him in such an ugly, tearful state was too much for Marshall to take, the pup's heart finally crumbling into bits.

"R-Ryder…?!" Marshall whimpered, with tears of his own beginning to flow. "C-C-C'mon… It-It's not true at all-!" Marshall walked up to the wailing child before him. "Y-You're totally… Totally a good person-!" Marshall wormed his way into Ryder's arms as best he could, putting his front paws around the boy's shoulders, quickly feeling Ryder practically hugging him hard enough for his bones to pop. "It-It's OK…! P-Please… Y-You're… G-Gonna be fine-!"

" **WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!** MAWSHALL, I'B PHO PHOWWY!! I'B UH HOWWEBUH WEEBUH!! I'B UH TEWWIBUH OHBU!! I'B PHOU YUBHWUTH!! I'B FUPH UH PHAIWUUH!! AI SHUGGGUH PHE PHAIKIGH GHAWE OB YUU!! I'B OWBWY GUUGH PHUGH GEBBIGH YUGH AWGH KHILLEB!! **WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!** "

In all the years that Marshall had known Ryder, not once had he ever gotten like this. He may have cried in the past, but not only was he now completely incoherent from being too worked up to even talk properly, but out of the corner of his eye, Marshall could see that rivers of snot and saliva were pouring from Ryder's nose and mouth. The horrifically-unpleasant sight was simply too much for Marshall to bear, and the dalmatian quickly broke down bawling along with him.

In fact, the duo were too caught up in crying like the distraught pair of children that they were to notice two more presences make their way through the dog door. First was Skye, who was followed by Chase. The two simply couldn't fight off their curiosity, and followed Marshall upstairs to hear what Ryder had to say. They had arrived just in time to hear Ryder begin yelling, and now that he was in hysterics, they couldn't keep themselves from looking properly. But this decision was one they both quickly came to regret. Both pups felt their hearts get brutally ripped in two the moment the sight became clear to them.

"G-Guys…?" Chase squeaked, tears very quickly flooding his eyes. "C-C'mon, there's… there's no need to… Y-You don't-! PLEASE-!! G-GUYS, PLEASE DON'T CRY!!!"

Of course, Chase and Skye swiftly burst into tears simultaneously and charged forward, throwing themselves at their screaming owner and the dalmatian in his arms. The two were completely unprepared for the level of emotional meltdown that Ryder and Marshall had both reached. Seeing Marshall in tears was bad enough, but seeing the ever-stalwart and cheerful Ryder bawling his eyes out with a face coated in streams of tears, snot and saliva was far too much for either of them. They simply couldn't take it and fell to Marshall and Ryder's level very quickly. The cacophony of tearful wailing soon became deafening.

It was times like this that served as a reminder: for all of Ryder's maturity, coolheadedness and kindness, he was only a child of ten years. Ryder may have appeared calm and collected on the outside, but in the end, he was still only a child. A lonely, frightened, vulnerable and despondent child that some would argue had far too much on his shoulders. And any who bore witness to the current scene would only have further ammunition for their argument.

Ryder may have handled loss in the past when he lost his grandfather, his sole guardian, but seeing one of his beloved pups seemingly meeting their demise right in front of him was a degree of trauma that a child simply couldn't be expected to handle well. The pups were more to him than simple pets, and he handled losing one of them accordingly. In every tearful scream, in every hysterical wail was all of the pain, sadness and anger that Ryder had boiling away inside of him for the last few days. And it took what felt like forever for Ryder to even slow down slightly.

The pups, for their own part, hadn't stopped crying hysterically into their owner's torso. Ryder's pain was highly-contagious, and it only took Ryder slowly getting quieter and more worn-out for the pups to finally cease their own crying. Soon, they were left in a sniffling, whimpering pile around their owner, who was preoccupied with hiccuping tearfully and sniffling uncontrollably, taking huge, uneven gulps of air.

"R-R-Ryder…?" Marshall whimpered. "D-Do you… feel… b-better now?"

"N-N… No..." Ryder stammered in a weak, raspy voice. "I-I'll… n-n-never… feel… better..."

"B-Because… y-you w-won't let us help you..." Chase whined.

"R-Ryder…" Skye sobbed. "P-Please… s-stop blaming yourself… Th-This was… none of our faults..."

"H-How can I not?" Ryder sniffled. "I… don't know who's fault… a-any of all of this was… I-I'm not sure I even... care about that anymore, to be honest..." The boy's voice quickly deflated into one of abject defeat. "...b-but… I'm… I'm not cut out to… to take care of any of you… I can't save you when you're in danger… I can't stop hurting people… I can't bring myself to talk to anyone… I… I'm… I'm…"

Ryder lowered his head to the point of his chin touching his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as his final word left his mouth in a pained, barely-audible whisper.

"...useless…"

In another first, Ryder had never used that word to describe anything or anyone, much less himself. And for all three pups, hearing it felt was likely what it felt like being stabbed. But instead of driving them to further tears, somehow, it renewed their resolve altogether.

"That's because you won't let anyone close." Marshall whispered in surprisingly-gentle admonishment. "We all know what kind of pain you were in… how scared you were of your nightmares… and how much the last couple days have hurt you… especially that whole episode with the river... But you can't just keep hiding and expect everything to just blow over… We wanna help you just like you've always helped us."

"Buf if you won't let us, we can't." Chase continued in the same tone as Marshall. "I know that since Marshall came back, saying all this is way easier. But if you won't talk to anyone, if you won't let anyone get close to you, everything's only gonna get worse and worse. And don't even THINK about blaming yourself, you hear?"

"He's right." Skye went on. "All this time you've been blaming yourself. You've been pushing out everyone who only wants to see you get better. And look where it's gotten you. Ryder… please… let us take care of you like you've always taken care of us… We all love you more than anything. And we all wanna see you get better. You've just gotta let us in… And not just us... everyone..."

Ryder didn't reply. All he did was lie in a heap with his pups while his hiccuping slowed and his breathing slowly became more regular. Ryder's meltdown was so intense that he could barely talk, but the words of his pups had hit him hard. He probably would have shed a few more tears if he wasn't too drained to let out so much as a single further drop of liquid from his eyes. He knew that they were right, and that he had to resolve to not shut everyone out. No matter how cliched and insincere their condolences may have felt, everyone was indeed only trying to help. After all, everyone who was grieving was grieving along with him. Inwardly, Ryder cursed himself for not seeing that sooner.

"So..." Chase began quietly. "Were you, uh… just gonna be alone tonight?"

"No way." Ryder shot back raspily. "I… I don't wanna be alone anymore… Maybe we should all go to bed? I mean, you can all sleep with me? If, er… If you all want?"

"But… you can't go to sleep now, right?" Marshall asked softly. "You… You're way too worked up… There's gotta be a way for you to cool down."

"I-I dunno..." Ryder whispered sadly.

"Hey! Movie night!" Skye shouted with a tone of somewhat-forced gaiety. "That's always done us good at Christmas and stuff! And we've always done that for our birthdays or if we're feeling bad, right? I can't think of a better thing to do right now!"

Chase quickly perked up. "Hey! Great idea, Skye!"

"That's genius!" Marshall concurred. "But… does Ryder think so?"

All of the pups looked towards Ryder. Even though he wasn't crying anymore, he was still a total wreck. Tears streaked his face and his nose was scarlet from all of the snot that had come gushing from it. His eyes were a fine shade of red and he looked exhausted beyond measure. But after a few seconds, the impossible happened. No-one was expecting anything like it to happen, especially not after he'd cried more than any of them thought possible, but even so, it happened.

Ryder smiled.

"That… That sounds incredible, pups..." he whispered. "C-Can I… put my… pajamas on, first?"

"Yeah! I'll go get the TV!" Marshall cried happily.

"And we'll go get the others!" Chase added. "C'mon, Skye!"

Ryder watched as the pups excitedly ran out of the room. Slowly, his heart filled with happiness once again. Ryder knew that the pups had needed him all their lives. But he never knew how badly he needed them. He also knew that the pups would always be there for each other. But not once had he considered himself to be someone that the pups would immediately down tools to help out of an emotional pit.

"Shows what I know..." Ryder whispered to himself as he used his newfound energy to grab a tissue to blow his nose after picking himself up onto his feet, quickly locking the dog door, getting undressed, tossing his clothes into a pile in the corner and putting his pajamas on, moving back to open the main door for the pups.

And soon after Ryder had clambered into bed, propping up the pillows in preparation for the small TV that was about to be wheeled into his room, Chase, Skye and five other pups appeared at his door, alongside Jake and Carlos.

"Ryder?!" Rocky cried upon getting a good look at the red-eyed boy sitting in bed with a face streaked with tears, looking unbelievably vulnerable. "Wh-What happened?! A-A-Are you OK?!"

"Aww, Ryder, dude..." Jake whispered sympathetically.

"Oh my gosh..." Carlos whispered in horror. "D-Did we do this…?"

"R-Ryder..." Rubble stuttered. "Y-You... you look... l-look..."

"Th-This… This is way worse than I thought..." Zuma whined.

"Hijole..." Tracker lamented. "How could things... g-get this bad...?"

"Poor Ryder..." Everest whimpered.

Immediately, everyone made a swift beeline for the bedridden Ryder. Jake and Carlos removed their shoes and sat on the bed next to him, with one sitting on either side of him and quickly putting an arm each around him. The two were followed by their respective pups, who snuggled into their owners' torsos, but at the same time resting their heads against Ryder's sides. And the remaining members of the Paw Patrol scrambled towards Ryder, enveloping the boy with warm fur.

Ryder couldn't help himself. Working his arms free of the covers, he threw them around his pups and hugged them as tightly as he could. And with all of them pressing themselves against him, the message was clear to Ryder. Despite everything, his pups loved him as dearly as he loved them. For a few moments, Ryder had gotten lost in the love of his family until a cart could be heard being wheeled into the room. Opening his eyes, the boy saw the cart being pushed by a dalmatian, who looked up at the sight and smiled warmly.

It didn't take long for Marshall to plug the TV and DVD player in, before using the remote to turn the TV on, start the movie and jump into the pup pile before him, nuzzling as close to Ryder as he could manage, with the boy returning the favour as best he could.

Their attention was soon taken by the movie that had been left in the DVD player from the last time they had watched a movie. "Apollo Meets the Ultra Rescue Squadron". A big-budget crossover movie that Marshall, Chase and Ryder all positively adored. As praised as it was for its action scenes, the drama between the characters was a big sell, too. There was a little something for everyone in the movie, and the first 30 minutes proved it, utterly engrossing the entire group.

About an hour later, and very few people were left watching the movie. One by one, each pup fell into a deep, blissful slumber, with Jake and Carlos both being the first to nod off where they sat. Soon, the only one left actually watching the movie was Ryder, who had a fond, warm smile on his face, even as his eyelids drooped from fatigue. Somehow, the movie really had a way of speaking to him. To remind him to always have hope. To never give up.

He didn't stop to think about how he should have taken the movie's message earlier, however, as the Sandman was working his magic in a hurry. But even as his eyes slowly closed and Ryder slipped into Dreamland along with everyone else there, he was still able to hear one more dialogue exchange between Apollo and Ultra Rescue Chief Taurus.

* * *

" _But… Chief Taurus… I can't… I can't rescue people like you can… I've got superpowers, but… I just can't use them… I'm no good compared to any of you..."_

" _Apollo… You mean more to people than you think. You're way better at what you do than you realise… Everyone here's counting on you… We all know you can do it... We're all rooting for you…"_

" _...really?"_

" _We're all right behind you… Hang in there."_


	26. Burnout

It took until the clock read 2:44PM for any movement to happen in Ryder's room at all. After yet another emotionally-exhausting night, every pup and human was completely down for the count, with the several hours of sleep they had accrued only making a light impact on how tired they all were. And surprisingly, the first one to move was Jake, who carefully moved Everest off of him and slid off of the bed, quickly flipping the TV into standby mode for good measure. As he moved towards the door, he couldn't resist stealing a glance at the sleeping pile of pups and humans. Smiling warmly at how peaceful the group looked, Jake slunk off down the hall, leaving the group behind him.

A few minutes later, the rest of the group slowly started coming to. Carlos roused himself in time to see the pups all knocked out around him for a couple of minutes, before the furry bundle in his arms stirred and woke.

"Carlos… Buenos días..." Tracker mumbled sleepily.

"Morning, Tracker..." Carlos replied quietly, before glancing over at Ryder.

"He looks so… peaceful." Tracker observed, slightly bewildered. "It's like last night never happened."

"He's gotta be exhausted." Carlos replied, placing a hand on the back of the chihuahua's head. "Ryder was holding onto a lot of pain until last night. It's not surprising that he's tuckered out."

"But it can't all be gone, can it?"

"Mmmmmgh… N-No way..."

The sleepy mumbling next to Tracker interrupted the two's conversation, prompting them to look over at the source of the voice: a german shepherd whose reddened eyes opened slightly to look at the pair.

"Chase?" Carlos whispered.

"Ryder… was in a bad way last night. Like, REALLY bad." Chase whispered groggily. "He's not gonna get over this in a hurry."

"He was crying like a baby, wasn't he?" Tracker asked, inwardly knowing the answer already.

Chase whimpered at the memory of his owner as a bawling wreck. "Yeah… I've… never seen him like that… heck, none of us have. Well, OK, we saw him like that the day Marshall came back, but that's not the point. Not gonna lie, it was scary… ugly… and everything inbetween. I don't think any of us are gonna forget that in a hurry."

"Heck, I know I'm not." Marshall suddenly interjected, having been listening for a few minutes. "If he was feeling like that… I don't wanna know how bad he could've gotten if I didn't go and talk to him."

"And that's why we can't leave him by himself again." Skye added, who had woken up a few minutes ago. "Maybe he's gonna feel a little better after that, but the fact he got like that in the first place? Means we've gotta be there for him no matter what happens."

Looking around, Carlos noticed the rest of the pups starting to wake up. All of them seemed slightly confused at first, but the group then turned their heads towards the sleeping boy at the head of the bed. It was greatly stunning how at-peace Ryder looked, considering that not a few hours earlier he was a bawling, vulnerable wreck. But they barely had time to dwell on this as they noticed Ryder's eyes twitch before they opened slowly to stare at the sea of pups before him.

"Pups..." Ryder whispered.

"Ryder, are… are you OK?" Marshall asked.

"I… I don't know..."

Ryder took a glance to his side to notice Carlos and Tracker sat next to him with sympathetic expressions. He then took a glance to his other side to notice Everest giving him the same look.

"Huh? Wh-Where's Jake?" Ryder asked.

"Right here, dude."

The group swiftly turned their attention to the door to notice Jake standing there, holding a tray with a plate and glass on it. As Jake stepped closer, it became clear that it was a plate of buttered toast and a glass of apple juice.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be up to it, but I thought I'd bring you some breakfast anyway. I thought you'd be pretty hungry after a day like yesterday, right?"

Ryder stared for a few seconds before mustering up a response. "Jake... that… sounds great… Thank you..."

Smiling at Ryder's response, Jake watched as the pups and Carlos cleared the bed before laying the tray across Ryder's lap. And surprisingly quickly, Ryder picked up the first slice of toast in a hurry and started swiftly devouring it, as if it was the first food he'd had in days. It was a relief to everyone to see Ryder finally eating, with some of the pups not noticing the sigh of relief that they had breathed. And in a couple of minutes, the toast was gone and the apple juice had disappeared into Ryder's stomach, leaving him panting slightly as light laughter rippled across the room.

"Easy, Ryder, you've gotta remember to breathe..." Marshall admonished jokingly.

"Food is good and all, but not when you pass out eating it!" Rubble added.

"Sorry..." Ryder replied with a sheepish grin.

"Hey, we're just glad you're eating." Carlos said.

Ryder looked at Carlos and gave a small nod, before looking back over the rest of the group. Everyone concentrated, as if trying to get a look into what was going through the boy's head. Once more, the silence was deafening. What was Ryder thinking?

"Carlos… Jake..." Ryder finally began. "C-Can you… take all the pups downstairs and get them some food? I keep it on the top shelf in a closet on the left. Rocky can show you where it is."

"Dude, you know we can't leave you alone..." Jake sighed.

"...I wasn't thinking about that… Could you, er… bring Marshall's bowl up to my room when you're done filling them up and… let us have a little alone time?"

"Of course!" Marshall replied, before realising that the question wasn't really directed at him as everyone regarded the pup with a funny look. "Er, um, I mean..."

Ryder giggled. "Don't worry about it, you silly pup… Jake? Carlos?"

"On it, dude." Jake turned to the pups. "C'mon, guys."

Everyone save for Marshall slowly filtered out of the room as Jake took the tray full of empty dishes with him. The dalmatian was quick to hop up to the bed and nuzzle his owner, to which Ryder responded with a hug of desperation. Even though he seemed more normal than usual, it was important for Marshall to remember that the boy was still in recovery mode. Marshall simply let himself be hugged, reassuringly licking Ryder's cheek the entire time and feeling all of Ryder's fear and sadness in his body language alone. Clearly, the thought of his pup being gone forever was one that tore at Ryder's very soul.

A few minutes later, Jake brought up the red dog bowl patterned with a white ladder. It was stuffed full of kibble, and Marshall didn't expect it to be as welcome a sight as it was. Once Ryder let him go, Marshall quickly jumped off the bed in time for Jake to put the bowl down in front of him. Within seconds, Marshall had messily devoured the contents of the bowl, not noticing Jake retreating from the room and closing the door behind him. Clearly, the pup was hungrier than he'd thought. Emotional adrenaline didn't make for much of a meal, after all.

The moment Marshall was finished, the dalmatian quickly scrambled back into bed and into his owner's arms. Despite how obviously scared and sad Ryder was, his tight hug was warm. Comforting. Oddly pleasant. Marshall ended up briefly nodding off a couple of times as Ryder hugged him in total silence. And it seemed that the feeling was mutual, if the light snoring coming from Ryder from time to time was any indication to the dalmatian. It was blatantly obvious how much Ryder needed his pup's companionship after denying himself of it for so long. After spending so long thinking that Marshall was dead, and then more time thinking that no-one would ever forgive him, it was plain to see that Ryder was still in a lot of pain, despite being over the worst of it.

The two had completely lost track of time as they sat cuddling in the bed. They had to have been sat there for at least thirty minutes until someone finally spoke up.

"Hey… Ryder?" Marshall began quietly.

Ryder didn't move at all, or even break the hug slightly. "What is it, Marshall?"

"Back last night… when you said all that awful stuff… About being a horrible person, not deserving to have pets, thinking this whole thing was your fault… You… you didn't mean any of that, right? You were just saying that?"

For a few seconds, Ryder remained silent. But then, very slowly, Ryder broke the hug, but still didn't dare to take his hands away from his pup. With one hand on Marshall's back, Ryder slowly and hesitantly reached towards his Pup Tag. Swallowing nervously, Ryder reached out and pressed a finger to it, holding it there for a couple of seconds until it lit up.

For a couple of seconds, a lot of confused voices came from the tag. The voices of Marshall's fellow pups. Marshall blinked in surprise. What in the world could Ryder have to say that he'd want the entire group to know? The voices quickly died off and fell into silence, with the odd scattered "Hello?" coming from the tag as Ryder breathed heavily, before steadily inhaling and beginning to speak.

"...I meant every single word of it, Marshall… I-I mean, my parents disappeared off the face of the Earth a little while after I was born, neither of them had any brothers or sisters and neither do I, m-my grandpa took care of me only to die not long after I met you and started the Paw Patrol, so all of my grandparents are dead…" Tears began to reach the boy's eyes once more. "Y-You pups… Y-You… You're all the family I've got left…! S-So… When I thought you were dead… I-I had no idea what to do… I-I felt like I'd lost my family all over again… And all I could do was just watch…" Ryder gave a long sniffle. "I… I couldn't stop thinking… that it should've been me… f-falling into the river… n-not you… I… I-I felt like such a… USELESS, STUPID kid… I felt like I'd totally failed all of you… I felt like I couldn't ever talk to you again… I mean… you're all like a bunch of brothers and sisters, right? And one of you died on my watch… How could I… f-face any of you… after that…?"

Marshall moved in and pressed his nose against Ryder's cheek. "But, Ryder… I know you said it's overplayed, but… there really wasn't anything you could've done. You're NOT useless, or a bad owner, or any of that other stuff… Everyone was powerless back then. I was powerless, Chase was powerless and you were powerless. You know as well as we do that we all love you too much to think you're a bad owner for even a second."

Ryder squeezed Marshall tightly. "B-But… That doesn't make it any better… You know how much you all mean to me… You, Chase, Skye, everyone..."

Marshall could've sworn that he heard soft, female whimpering coming from someone over his Pup Tag.

"I love every single one of you to bits..." Ryder went on. "There's no room on the Paw Patrol for a replacement for any of you… I've known all of you and been taking care of you since I was five… And I've got to watch you all grow… and play with you… and be there for you..." Ryder closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I… I just don't know how I could live without any of you..."

The atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife. Now it was clear: Ryder didn't just want to pour his heart out to Marshall. He wanted to pour his heart out to the entire group. No-one could recall the last time Ryder was so open with them about himself. He'd repeatedly made clear how much he cared about them, but never on a scale like this. He never wanted to discuss the thought of losing one of them, and after the last few days, it was plain to see why. Even Marshall felt himself getting wet-eyed at his owner's speech. It took a few seconds before the silence was broken by Chase's line.

"Ryder, sir? Don't you think we all feel that way?"

Ryder blinked, staring intently at Marshall's Pup Tag, listening as Chase went on.

"We all know more about how you're feeling than you think. We all lived through losing Marshall just like you. It was only worse for us two because we watched it all happen right in front of us. You basically summed up what we all went through… It's like you said, we're like brothers and sisters in a lot of ways… We lost our brother that day, and you… well, you lost family too, right? Remember how we all felt when Rubble got trapped in the mountains? Well, it was like that. Only a hundred times worse..."

Ryder suddenly got a look of sadness at the memory.

"I felt like a huge failure the day Marshall fell, too. Heck, I was actually thinking about leaving the Paw Patrol for good until Marshall came back..."

A loud, collective gasp shot through Marshall's Pup Tag. Identical expressions of horror spread across Marshall and Ryder's faces. The only one who didn't partake was Skye.

"...but if you'd let us in, we all would've cried with you. I know, I'm not one to talk, but we all could've helped you. You're more than just our owner. You're more than just our boss..."

An unmistakable sniffle came through Chase's line.

"...you're like our dad. And we all love you like you love us. We'd all do anything for each other. And… that includes you… Never forget that."

Now Ryder had begun to shed tears of joy. He was clearly kicking himself over thinking what he had for so long. For intentionally cutting himself off from a family who loved him. Ryder didn't say anything for a little while. Instead he elected to cry quietly in his bed, after bringing Marshall back into his arms, with the dalmatian draping his spotted forelegs over Ryder's shoulders. Once more, he went back to licking Ryder's cheek for a while, before realising that his line was still open, and remembering that one pup still had some unfinished business with their owner.

"Skye?" Marshall piped up. "You there?"

There was a brief pause. "I'm here." Skye replied uncertainly.

"You've… still got something you wanna say to Ryder, right?"

There was another pause. "Well… yeah, but… I wanna say it to his face. I don't wanna tell him over my Pup Tag..."

Marshall looked expectantly at Ryder.

"Skye… I wanna talk to you as well." Ryder replied. "Can you… come up here, please?"

Skye's lack of reply served as her answer. The sound of a call disconnecting broadcasted through Marshall's Pup Tag.

"She's on her way, guys." Rubble's voice informed.

Marshall exhaled. "That's good. Over and out."

As the call finally ended, Ryder looked right at Marshall with a look of horror.

"Chase was thinking about leaving?!" he shouted.

"I-I guess! I-I didn't hear him say anything about that! W-We were listening in on his talk with Skye at one point, but none of us heard anything like that! We heard them yelling, but-" Marshall froze. "Wait a minute. Skye said something like 'Where would you have gone?!' at one point… Maybe that's what she was talking about?"

A wide-eyed Ryder slumped back in his bed. "I had no idea… I… could've helped him… I could've talked him down…" His face contorted back to an expression of pain. "...and all I did was mope… I just let it happen..."

Marshall sighed sadly, and laid down on the boy's stomach.

"Ryder… I wasn't here for a long time… but from what I can tell, it looks like Chase would've been impossible to talk to anyway… Chase mentioned that he'd totally shut himself off… He didn't react to anyone. I'm not sure he would've reacted to you either, actually."

"Probably not."

Skye's voice cut off the two's conversation as the cockapoo appeared around the corner with a heavy, serious expression adorning her features.

"I'll, er… I'll give you two some space." Marshall concluded as Skye got closer, hopping off of Ryder and passing the cockapoo by as he made for the door slightly faster than he was intending, leaving Ryder alone with Skye, who quickly jumped up onto Ryder's bed, sitting at the foot of it and looking at the boy from a distance.

"So..." Skye began. "...wanna start us off?"

Ryder looked down and away from Skye, his black-ringed eyes telling the entire story. "...how am I supposed to do that?" he sighed sadly. "What more is there to say? I left you all alone out there… I yelled at you for daring to try to talk to me… I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most… And all I did was worry you all by shutting myself off… I… deserved every single word you threw at me back then, Skye..."

Skye exhaled loudly, flapping her lips for good measure. Even Ryder could be kind of a fool sometimes. He'd just started them off perfectly! But then, Skye wasn't about to derail the conversation by pointing this out.

"I know you had your reasons, Ryder. It's like Chase said: we all knew how you were feeling. I don't think any of us could handle losing a pup. We've all known each other for so long now that..." Skye swallowed heavily. "...losing one of us… well, I'd say that blows any of our other fears out of the water… It hurt worse than anything, didn't it?"

Ryder said nothing. He just meekly looked up at Skye and nodded slowly, the pained expression not leaving his face once.

"It sure did..." Skye went on. "...but that doesn't change how darn SELFISH you were!" Suddenly, the cockapoo's voice changed into one of pain and disappointment, causing Ryder to flinch and look down at the bedsheets again.

"Yeah, I get it, it hurt! But you know what else hurt? Having to watch you shut us all out! All we could do was worry about you! I mean, you nearly passed out when you finally came out of your room because you weren't eating! Losing Marshall was bad enough, but how do you think we would've felt if you lost you too?! Huh?!"

"...wh-?" Ryder stuttered. "Th-That wouldn't have-"

"Wouldn't it?!" Skye interrupted. "How were we supposed to know?! That's how worried we were about you! We all needed to come together to at least try to get through this, and Chase not letting us get close was bad enough! We had no idea how he was doing, if he was sick, heck, we didn't even know he was thinking about leaving the Paw Patrol and living on the streets! And that's how we were feeling about you! We'd basically already lost you!"

Stopping to catch her breath, Skye noticed how morose Ryder looked at the tongue-lashing she was giving him. She may have vented what she wanted to say to him, but she wanted him to get better as much as anyone else. To go back to being their wise, kindly owner. Their father-figure. And with the painful part out of the way, now perhaps she could work towards helping him. Taking some deep breaths to try and push out how bad she felt, Skye slowly calmed down and prepared to speak again.

"But… you know I can't hate you… I can't hate anyone." Skye went on, this time far more gently.

The shift in tone caused Ryder to look back up at her with noticeably damp eyes.

"Well, I can't hold a grudge, anyway." the cockapoo corrected herself. "I know I shouldn't have yelled at you and Chase, but I'm not gonna lie, I was, and still kind of am, pretty mad at you. But… really, I'm more disappointed. Disappointed that you'd shut yourself away when things are really at their worst when you have pups who want to help you. Who worry about you… Pups like me. All I want… all WE want is to see you get better."

Ryder couldn't hide the sniffle that he gave off. "...I thought I was better than that, too, Skye… I didn't realise how… weak I really am… I couldn't handle losing a pup… at all. I didn't know what to do with myself… or how I could handle life without Marshall… And all it made me do was totally act out… There's no forgiving what I've done… is there?"

Skye simply looked down and sighed quietly with a sad expression. Getting to her feet, Skye slowly walked towards Ryder, who still lay slumped in his bed. The boy had to admit to being confused when Skye walked up to the side of him, only to turn around and crawl under the covers next to him. He watched on as the small lump under his bedding moved over to him, only to jump when he felt fur against his belly.

"HEY-!!" Ryder shrieked. "Hee hee hee hee hee! S-Skye! Ha ha ha ha ha! Hee hee- g-g-get out of there-! Ha ha ha! Th-That tickles! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Skye had obviously dug her head underneath Ryder's shirt and was now nuzzling his belly. Ryder was more ticklish than he liked people to believe, and him being a paralysed, giggling mess at the mercy of his pup rubbing her face and paws against his belly was proof of that. After a little while, Skye poked her head out from the neck of Ryder's pajama top and licked his face a few times, causing more uncontrollable giggling before the cockapoo tucked her head underneath his chin.

"You can be so silly sometimes..." she replied lightheartedly. "Of course you can be forgiven. And in fact, I do forgive you. But on one condition."

Astonished, Ryder sat there for a little while in silence, not truly knowing how to respond.

"...c-condition?" he stammered.

Skye moved to eye-level with Ryder. "Never. EVER. Shut us out again. We're more than just a team, you know? We're a family. We always help each other out. We take care of each other. And not being able to take care of you or even apologise to you after I yelled at you made me feel even worse than I already did. So please. Let us take care of you. Like you've always taken care of us. And hey, if nothing else, even if you are a failure like you say, we can help you past that, too. But only if you let us. OK?"

Almost automatically, Ryder quickly wrapped his arms around Skye and squeezed her tightly, tears of happiness trickling forth from his eyes. Perhaps there was hope for him after all?

"I promise, Skye… I'll never run away from you pups again… I'll always be here for you from now on… just like how I'll let you all be here for me."

Now it was Skye's turn to shed tears. Tears of happiness and relief. Deep down, she could never shake the thought that Ryder had crossed the event horizon and that they'd never get back the leader they loved so much. Vigorously nuzzling her owner, Skye worked her front paws free and hugged Ryder back as tightly as she could.

"Thank you, Ryder… thank you..." she whispered.

Ryder sniffled happily. "I-I should be thanking YOU..."

The pair were content to simply hug it out for a few minutes, but eventually, Skye convinced Ryder to work up the courage to go downstairs to see the other pups. Deciding that he should probably shower first, Ryder quickly went to wash himself off before getting dressed and heading down the elevator with Skye, feeling far calmer than he had in days. But when he got down, an unexpected sight greeted him.


	27. Awake

Everyone was huddled around a thoroughly crestfallen-looking Chase, who currently had his eyes glued to the floor with one of the saddest faces imaginable from him. Some of the pups surrounded him from the front with expressions of sympathy, while others were nuzzling him and some had their arms over the shepherd's back and shoulders. Though curiously, Jake and Carlos were nowhere in sight. Not that anyone deigned to notice, given the miserable-looking shepherd in the middle of the room.

"Pups? What happened?" Ryder asked, stepping off of the elevator.

The group jumped at the voice, before looking at Ryder and wincing. Something told him that he wasn't going to like what he heard.

"Well..." Marshall began apprehensively, with a paw on Chase's back. "...we asked Chase about… if he really felt like leaving the Paw Patrol… We, er… got a little angry..."

"'A little'?" Ryder replied with a suspicious look.

"OK, some of us yelled..." Rocky admitted sadly from Chase's other side. "But what did you expect? Where would Chase have gone?! Where would he have lived?! How would he have eaten, gotten enough water?! Who would he talk to?! A-And how could we go on without him?! W-We lost Marshall a couple days ago, so how would we go on if we lost Chase, too?!"

"Rocky, ease up!" Ryder shouted, before taking a gentler tone. "Getting worked up like this isn't helping anyone."

With a whimper, Rocky obliged. Ryder then walked over to Chase and kneeled down in front of him, giving Rocky a reassuring pat on the head for good measure. Ryder then took a more gentle tone, even though he knew he was about to reprimand his pup.

"But Rocky's not wrong, Chase." he began. "Ignoring the fact we lost Marshall all those days ago; we all love you, and saying things like that… well, that scares all of us!"

"B-But-!" Chase stammered.

"Hey, hey, shhhh..." Ryder soothed.

The pups stared at him in astonishment, amazed that the Ryder of old was showing once again.

"…I know how terrible it felt to lose Marshall. Trust me, I really do. But running away would NOT have been the answer. If you left us, you wouldn't have anyone to feed you or take care of you. And we'd struggle to find you, too. And where would you sleep every night? Chase, you would've been totally alone."

Chase remained silent, looking as morose as ever.

"But more than that, how do you think the rest of us would've felt? It was bad enough that we lost Marshall, but if we lost you too..." Ryder swallowed hard. "...OK, there's no nice way of saying this: the team probably would've fallen apart completely… The Paw Patrol would've been finished off."

Ryder felt his heartstrings being pulled at by the sad whining coming from all around him. And from in front of him.

"We all depend on each other way more than you might think. I know I'm probably the last person who should be saying that right now, and the last person who should be saying not to run away, but thanks to Skye, I can see that way more clearly. And when Marshall fell into the river… it broke all of us. Now imagine what would happen if we lost you, too?"

Chase was feeling extremely guilty. Now that he was imagining how things could've been with him disappearing from the group, too, Chase was audibly sniffling.

"I… I-I… I never thought of that…!" Chase whimpered, obviously trying to hold back the tide as best he could.

"Because you weren't thinking straight." Ryder replied. "But you've gotta remember: If you ever left us… It'd hurt way more than you think. And it wouldn't just hurt you. It'd hurt all of us. I hope you remember that."

Chase sniffled. "G-Guys, I… I-I… I'm so sorry..."

Marshall moved in for a hug. "Don't ever say stuff like that again, Chase! You hear?"

"And don't even THINK about leaving us, mister!" Skye added.

"What would we do without you, Chase?!" Rocky asked.

"And there you go." Ryder said calmly. "You mean too much to everyone to run away. So promise you won't even do so much as think about it?"

"I won't! I promise!" Chase shouted immediately, his eyes noticeably wet.

"Hey, hey… C'mere..."

Ryder didn't waste any more time, and nor did Chase. The moment Ryder started reaching towards him, Chase jumped straight into Ryder's arms, clinging to him for dear life and sniffling slightly. And the remaining pups quickly followed, crowding around the boy and the shepherd and hugging them both.

The warm fur surrounding him stirred up memories of the previous night for Ryder, where things had been put into perspective for him. He was more than just an owner to his pups. For the longest time, he was the one who would take care of them, cheer them up and help resolve any problems they may have had. But he never thought that the roles would be reversed last night. For the first time, Ryder realised that he needed the pups as much as they needed him. A tear leaked forth from Ryder's eye as he basked in the warm embrace of his family.

"Pups..." Ryder whispered tearfully. "I… I love you so much..."

"We love you too, Ryder..." Skye whispered.

"Heck, we love you more..." Marshall added.

Ryder smiled even more widely. "I love you even more..."

Chase gently licked Ryder's cheek. "...we love you times infinity."

For a long time, the group hug between the entire Paw Patrol went on uninterrupted, until Rocky felt the need to speak up.

"Ryder? Are you… feeling OK?"

Ryder paused for a moment before answering. "Not completely… but I will be. What about you? I mean, I yelled at you a few days ago when you didn't deserve it at all!"

Rocky snuggled closer to Ryder. "Eh. Ancient history." he whispered. "The fact that you look even a little better is what matters."

Ryder was about to reply, until the beeping of his Pup Pad cut him off.

"Huh? My Pup Pad?" Ryder muttered absentmindedly, breaking the hug and standing up.

"Who could be calling Wyder wight now?" Zuma asked.

"Maybe it's Mayor Goodway?" Rubble posited.

"Well, er, let's find out." Ryder replied, drawing the cracked Pup Pad from his person.

"Whoa!" Rocky cried upon seeing the cracks snaking across the screen.

"Jeez!" Skye added. "Brutal!"

Ryder cringed. He internally reminded himself to get the Pup Pad fixed sooner rather than later. Looking at the icon on the screen, Ryder tapped it immediately, bringing up the image of a blonde-haired girl.

"Katie?" Ryder began. "Something up?"

"I should be asking YOU that!" Katie retorted. "Are you OK? I mean, you totally disappeared a couple days ago."

"Well, no..." Ryder gave a sad smile. "But at this rate… I will be in no time."

"You sure?"

"Yes! In fact… I'm more sure than I have been in days..."

Katie beamed briefly. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that…" But the smile quickly melted into an expression of concern. "B-But anyway. I'm so sorry to call you like this, but I've got a big problem! One that I'm gonna need the Paw Patrol's help with! I know you're all probably in no condition to rescue anyone, but I didn't know where else to go!"

Ryder cast his gaze across the group of pups surrounding him. Every single one replied with a nod of varying degrees of enthusiasm. But more importantly, the pups all seemed to be in agreement. And with the memory of last night's disastrous rescue in his head, Ryder found himself more eager to make amends than he thought. A determined smirk flickered across his features.

"We're here to help, Katie!" Ryder declared.

"W-Wait… Just like that?" Katie stammered in confusion.

"Just like that. It's what we do, right?"

"W-Well, yeah… But I don't know if you're gonna like it..."

"What could we not like about it, Katie?"

"Well..." Katie looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I-It… It… It's..."

"C'mon, Katie! Don't be shy!"

"It's Cali! She's stuck in a tree in the park!"

And almost-immediately, what Katie meant became crystal clear. She didn't even get to finish her sentence before Ryder's smile faded. The memories of why he was the way he was for so long quickly bubbled back to the surface and a stern, displeased glare quickly worked its way onto Ryder's face, with the pups, barring Marshall, Everest and Tracker, all looking similarly unhappy to hear who they would be rescuing, with a couple even growling quietly.

"...Cali?" Ryder asked flatly. "Cali. The same Cali who… nearly got one of my pups killed. The same Cali who nearly caused the whole team to fall apart. The same Cali who made me think I was a total failure for the last few days. That Cali. And now she needs OUR help. Again. Katie, you can't be serious."

"See?" Katie shot back. "This is why I said you wouldn't like it! But there's no-one else who can help Cali down!"

"How do we know that Cali's not just gonna put one of us in danger again? The last time we tried to save Cali, Marshall nearly died, and for three days, we were at our lowest."

"But saving people is what you do, isn't it?"

"You don't get it!" Ryder had suddenly turned angry again. "Katie, we thought our fire pup was DEAD! And we just found out now that Chase felt so horrible about what happened that he was thinking about leaving the Paw Patrol! If Marshall hadn't come back when he did, Chase probably would've been gone, too! Think about what would've happened to us if we lost both our fire pup AND our police pup one after the other! We would've been totally crippled! And do you think the rest of the pups would've been able to keep going after two of their best friends disappeared one after the other?! DO YOU?!"

Marshall glanced around with a frightened expression. None of the other pups had shed their angry expressions, and Ryder was once again looking downright furious. The only other ones who were worried were Everest and Tracker. Little did he know that Katie had the same expression now that Ryder was clearly taking his anger out on her. They couldn't help but find it abhorrent that everyone would have such an abrupt about-face after hearing who they would be rescuing.

Ryder took a deep breath in. "I'm sorry, Katie. But we've already proven that Cali's way too dangerous for us to try and rescue. Mr. Porter will probably have a ladder. In fact, anyone could help. Carlos, Jake, heck, even Cap'n Turbot. Please, find someone who can help. But not us. We're not able."

"But-!"

Katie didn't get to finish her sentence before Ryder coldly terminated the call, making sure to turn his Pup Pad back off before putting it away. With an irritated snarl, Ryder looked back up at the pups. He noticed the scowls and glares of most of his pups before looking at a certain group of three, who looked utterly appalled.

"Ryder!" Marshall shouted scoldingly. "What the heck was that!?"

"I thought we were here to help?!" Everest added.

"How could you just ditch someone in trouble like that?!" Tracker demanded.

Ryder could barely fight the tidal wave of guilt that hit him at that point. The Paw Patrol never refused a soul in need. Even when it was a longtime enemy like Mayor Humdinger or Sweetie, if they needed help, he would always spring into action alongside his pups. But here he was directly refusing to help someone. Someone who hadn't even caused their problems on purpose. They would always help someone who had done far worse, after all.

"B-But… Cali… almost killed you..." Ryder whispered, looking at Marshall.

"If it wasn't for Cali, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Chase shouted.

"How can Katie expect us to rescue Cali when last time we tried doing that, you nearly died?!" Skye added angrily.

"And what about when Sweetie pupnapped Chase and tried to frame him for stealing Barkingburg's crown?" Marshall retorted. "Sweetie fell out of the sky a little while later. Did we just leave her to it?"

"And what about Mayor Humdinger? He trapped Rocky on an island once, and you guys still have to rescue him all the time." Everest added. "Have you ever just left him to it?"

"Cali didn't even do all of this on purpose, so why is she less worth saving than anyone who's actually caused trouble?" Tracker asked.

"Because none of them have done anything that nearly gets one of us KILLED!" Rocky snapped.

"Accident or not, the last time we twied to save Cali, she caused an accident so bad it looked like we were all gonna bweak up!" Zuma added. "How do we know Cali's not just gonna mess evewything up again?!"

"...I WANT to save Cali..." Rubble said quietly, causing everyone to look at him. "...but it's like Zuma said… I'm scared that Cali might cause an accident again… And the last time she did that, we thought Marshall was dead for three days… And now that I know what losing family is like… I never EVER wanna go through that again… So… we can't. We can't rescue Cali after she did something like that… Who knows if she might do it again..."

Marshall couldn't help but whimper. He looked across all of the pups. All of them still looked thoroughly steamed, with the exception of Rubble, who instead looked strangely sad. Ryder looked hugely conflicted. He didn't seem to know whether to leave Cali be or try and rescue her anyway. A clash between head and heart that showed no sign of resolving itself any time soon. He then looked back at Everest and Tracker, who both looked upset at the rest of the group's stubbornness. Everest then gestured to the two boys to come closer. For a few seconds, they huddled together, whispering indeterminately to each other before turning back to face the rest of the group with strangely-serious expressions.

"But when has danger ever stopped us before?" Marshall began. "Ryder, when we joined the Paw Patrol, we each promised to do our best to lend a paw whenever we're needed. Look, I get it: It's way scarier going on rescues after it nearly killed one of us. But we've always helped people no matter how dangerous things were gonna get. We never know how dangerous a rescue's gonna be, but we've never given up or chickened out or anything like that before! And I don't know about all of you, but I'm not ready to start now!"

Everest then stepped forward. "We can't just turn down someone in need, even if they've hurt us in some way. Even then, what Cali did was an accident! I'm not saying that makes it OK, but Cali needs help just like anyone else. Even if we all can't forgive Cali, we can at least get her down from that tree like we always would! Because, well, if someone got hurt just because we chose not to rescue them, what kind of rescue team are we?"

Some of the pups glanced around uncertainly. They had to admit that Marshall and Everest both had points. Rocky and Zuma both seemed a little less apprehensive and Chase and Skye, while they both still looked disgruntled, didn't look anywhere near as angry at the prospect of saving Cali. Rubble's expression of sadness, however, remained unchanged.

"But… What if… What if we lose Marshall again? I can't go on a rescue if it means we might lose someone again..."

"Don't you trust Marshall?" Tracker replied. "An accident like that could've happened to anyone, verdad? We've been saying that the accident wasn't his fault, after all. He's been wanting to get back into rescuing for the past couple days, so if he thinks he's ready and he's not injured or anything, what's the point in saying no? He's tougher than you think, you know? Marshall says he's ready to do his thing again. And I think all he wants right now is for you to let him."

All of the pups looked unsure of themselves. All of them exchanged looks between each other, as well as at the floor. Now Chase and Skye, the angriest pups among them at that time, looked completely lost.

"Guys… please… do you trust me?" Marshall asked quietly.

"It's not that we don't trust you, Marshall..." Chase replied. "...but we're all scared to death of something happening again..."

"Then I'll just have to make sure that nothing happens, won't I?"

A few seconds passed before Skye sighed with a sad smile.

"You're a stubborn pup, Marshall..."

"Tell me something I don't know..." he replied lightheartedly, to scattered laughs from the group.

The silence from then on didn't last much longer before the pups started to shed their looks of uncertainty and replaced them with looks of seriousness.

"...Marshall..." Rubble began. "...I trust you."

"Me too, dude. Just… please be caweful out there?" Zuma continued.

"Now that I think about it, not being over a deadly river will probably make things way easier." Rocky surmised. "But if you'll be careful out there… well, we won't have any problems."

Marshall couldn't help but smile widely. "Thanks, guys..."

The group's attention then shifted over to Chase and Skye, who still had looks of uncertainty about them.

"Marshall..." Chase began. "Do you PROMISE to be careful out there?"

"Of course, Chase!" Marshall replied.

"You swear?" Skye asked.

"I swear!"

There was another pause, followed by Chase and Skye exchanging looks with each other, before they both approached Marshall and extended their paws to him.

"OK…" Chase began. "Marshall..."

"...we're with you!" Skye concluded at the same time as Chase.

Marshall couldn't contain himself. Now his spirits had been lifted over the moon. Swiftly, he thrust his paw out and high-fived the two pups in front of him.

"I won't disappoint you, guys!" Marshall shouted happily.

Chase and Skye smiled back at Marshall. Now the group was looking only slightly wary of what was to come. Now, they looked mostly confident, and ready for whatever might come. But there was, however, one who wasn't. Ryder was staring vacantly at the cracked Pup Pup that he'd recently put away, with a blank expression adorning his features. The glow from the screen that had been switched back on enveloped his face. Nobody seemed to know what to make of the sight before them.

"No job is too big..."

But slowly, Ryder's face shifted to a determined glare, his grip visibly tightening on the Pup Pad. A small smirk spread over his lips.

"...no pup is too small!"

Immediately, hope spread across the faces of the pups in the room. They never would've guessed how good it felt to hear Ryder's catchphrase after such a long period of absence. Their hearts soared as Ryder pulled the button from the Pup Pad and pressed it with gusto.

"Paw Patrol: To the Lookout!"

"Ryder needs us!" the pups shouted with far more enthusiasm than they intended. Everyone turned to make a beeline for the elevator until Chase froze up and looked back at Ryder with a confused look.

"Wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait." Chase called, prompting everyone to freeze and look at him. "Ryder, sir, we're all right in front of you. Why did you need to call us with your Pup Pad?"

"Huh?" Ryder replied, looking down at his Pup Pad. Then looking at the pups. Then back at his Pup Pad.

"E-Err… O-Oh, uh... yeah… Er… Heh heh, oops." he stammered, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish, bashful grin and a visible blush.

The pups all burst out laughing, with Ryder quickly joining in. Somehow, seeing Ryder of all people making a silly mistake was infinitely-refreshing, and an excellent sign that for all of the pain he had gone through, the leader and owner they used to love was returning in a hurry.

Once more, everyone, Ryder included, ran towards the elevator and piled in, feeling more excitement than they thought they would. All of the pups had made their way in with Ryder standing amongst them, ready for whatever would come their way, until a shout was heard.

"Whoaaaaaaaaa-!" Marshall yelled, somehow barely managing to stay upright on a ball that had been left on the floor.

"LOOK OUT!" everyone else yelled back.

"Brace yourselves!" Chase commanded.

But none of the pups had time. Marshall's impromptu circus act quickly barrelled straight into them with a thunderous crash, knocking the whole group off of their feet. Marshall found himself buried underneath Chase while at the same time finding himself on top of Ryder's torso, receiving a lot of amused looks.

"Un-ball-lievable..." Marshall groaned lightheartedly.

And the entire group laughed even more loudly as the elevator closed and ascended to the upper floor. As this happened, Ryder couldn't resist rubbing his pup's head. After so long of thinking that things were never going to be the same again, it surprisingly made the group happy beyond measure to be subjected to Marshall's wipeouts once more. It took a long time, but things seemed to have well and truly gone back to normal for the embattled team.


	28. Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

It felt slightly strange to the pups for Ryder to be on the elevator with them as they reported to the Lookout's top floor for their duties. Usually it was just them and whatever objects Marshall had brought in with him from his most recent wipeout. But now, Ryder was standing tall, looking surprisingly eager to get to the rescue. It didn't take long for the pups to change into their gear and jump out after Ryder ran to the head of the room to take his place in front of the screen.

"Paw Patrol ready for action, Ryder, sir!" Chase cried happily.

"I'd hope so, Chase!" Ryder replied. "So. We all know what the problem is. Cali. In the park. Up a tree. Simple, right?"

"Right!" the pups replied.

"But things are gonna be a little different this time." Ryder looked down at his Pup Pad and moved to Chase's icon. "Chase. We'll need you and your net in case anything goes wrong getting Cali down."

"Chase is on the case!"

"And… that should be it." Ryder concluded. "Let's go."

Immediately, the rest of the pups shifted into looks of shock and indignation, looking at Ryder like he had just insulted the entire group. Chase, especially, given that it was now looking like he would have to rescue Cali all by himself. And Marshall felt his heart beginning to break again...

"...gotcha!"

And immediately, the atmosphere was flipped on its head. The pups all burst out laughing uncontrollably at Ryder's prank, most of them being barely able to look at the boy with the smug smile plastered across his face.

"Oh, my-!" Marshall choked through his laughter. "You can't… You can't DO that, Ryder!"

"Y-You had… had us going!" Skye laughed.

"Y-You… You jerk!" Everest chuckled.

Even Ryder began giggling. As much as he wanted to try and remain stoic in the face of his pups chastising him for scaring them, their joy was highly-infectious, and Ryder quickly succumbed. It took a few minutes before he was ready to speak again.

"Ha ha ha, OK, OK..." Ryder giggled, using a finger to wipe a tear from his eye. "Back on track."

Ryder waited for the pups to cease their laughing before eventually carrying on. "Pups. I know how badly getting the news a few days ago hit you all. And I know that this next rescue is gonna worry a lot of you..."

The pups' eyes widened, causing them all to start shooting befuddled glances at one another.

"...thaaat's right, I saw it in your eyes. I know all of you better than you think. And that goes for you, too, Everest and Tracker."

The two pups addressed quickly looked at each other with spooked expressions. They had to wonder just how far Ryder's knowledge of them all went. And if he really had grown to know them so well despite their different owners.

"Anyway. Not the point." Ryder continued. "The point is, I know you're all gonna wanna see this. You'll all wanna know if this goes well. You're all gonna wanna know if a certain someone can pull this off. I mean, I know I can, he knows he can, and you all know he can. But you need to see it for yourselves. You need to be reassured that he… WE can all do it. Our courage has been in the toilet the last few days, and we all need a good reality check. So everyone is gonna come on this rescue. Not just Chase. But every single one of you."

Ryder started looking over the pups one by one.

"Rocky. Skye. Rubble. Zuma. Everest. Tracker. All of you are gonna be with us for this rescue. All of you are gonna get to see that we can still pull it off."

Suddenly, the pups were looking far happier. Ryder knew exactly what they wanted. And that was to have their nerves allayed. After one of their own never came back from a rescue, they all wanted to ensure that they would come home safe this time. They wanted to know that a random tragedy wouldn't simply blow a hole in the team again.

"And Marshall."

Marshall, feeling somewhat ignored at this point, perked up very quickly at hearing his name. Though upon looking at Ryder, it was clear that he had something that he desperately wanted to tell his pup. And that perhaps he was avoiding mentioning the dalmatian's name up until this point for this reason.

"Front and centre."

Suddenly, the spotted pup felt all of the eyes in the room on him. But as nervous as he was, he wasn't about to refuse Ryder's command. Slowly, he moved forward while constantly trying to remind himself to breathe. His chest felt tight from the anticipation. But soon after he reached Ryder, the boy was able to dispel all of the pup's fear and nervousness with a single touch. Kneeling down, Ryder laid one hand on top of Marshall's head, and the other on his just like that, Marshall started to breathe far easier.

"I know what I did yesterday wasn't right." Ryder began gently. "I know it was uncalled for. I had no right to yell at you the way I did. But you wanna know the truth? When you wanted to come with us… I was scared out of my mind. And I was so scared of losing you again that… well, you know the story, I'm sure."

With a sad expression, Marshall nodded.

"I know how much being a fire pup means to you. And thinking about it, when I yelled at you, it probably sounded like I didn't think you could do it anymore. But I'm gonna say it right now: Nothing could be further from the truth. And I'm so sorry I'd make you think that for even a few seconds." Ryder placed a hand under Marshall's chin and made sure the pup was looking him in the eyes. "I trust you, Marshall. I believe in you. I know you can do it. And deep down, so does everyone else. You know what you've gotta do. All I want – no – what we ALL want is for you to show us that you're ready again. So… you up to it?"

Marshall couldn't help but feel his eyes water slightly as an uncontrollably-wide smile spread across his face. His owner had just expressed total faith in him, rendering his angry tirade from the last day moot. Marshall had to fight back how choked up he was before he could give a coherent response.

"...I won't let you down, Ryder, sir!" Marshall wavered.

"Wrong answer..." Ryder replied liltingly, giving the speckled pup a knowing smirk.

He didn't think it possible, but Marshall smiled even more widely.

"...I'M FIRED UP!!" Marshall shouted, to barks and cheers of approval behind him.

"Absolutely right, Marshall!" Ryder replied firmly, smiling back at the dalmatian before standing up. "Now… are all of you?!"

"Yes sir, Ryder, sir!" the pups all shouted back.

"Alright! Paw Patrol is on a roll!"

The cheering that followed Ryder as he ran for the pole was near-deafening. Though this only served to fill Ryder with even more vigour as he leapt at it and slid down it as per usual, in stark contrast to his glum drop down it the day before. And as Marshall stole a look back at the group behind him, their tails wagging ferociously, Chase looked at Marshall and jerked his head towards the slide, continuing to smile at him. Barking in joy, Marshall charged towards the slide, only to stumble and trip down it as per usual. And yet, he had never felt as overjoyed to trip down the slide as he had now.

And when Marshall landed in the driver's seat, he started to feel right at home once more. It felt like this was one of the final steps towards making things right once again. And to cement this step being taken, he put his paw down to the accelerator with gusto…

...only to yelp in surprise as his fire truck shot backwards and noisily crashed into the wall of the Lookout. Marshall looked around in a panic, only for his eyes to settle on the gear stick.

"Whoops! Heh, had the silly thing in reverse!" Marshall chuckled to no-one in particular.

Shifting the gear stick to its proper position, Marshall let out a triumphant howl as his truck moved ahead, with Chase following not long after. The pair looked at each other and grinned as they moved towards the bridge, followed closely behind by the other pups, with Skye's helicopter flying high above them. And as if on cue, as if he was waiting for them, the garage door opened to reveal Ryder sitting proudly atop his ATV. As he rolled forward, he stole a glance back at the pups.

"You two are forgetting something..." Ryder said liltingly, looking back and forth at Chase and Marshall.

"Huh? Forgetting?" Marshall parroted.

"Oh, I know!" Chase cried, putting his siren on.

"Oh! Of course!" Marshall replied, moving to do the same.

With a proud nod and smile, Ryder turned back to the road and lead the charge, driving down the road with the entire Paw Patrol at his back, with the sirens of the police and fire pups blaring loud and proud. Just as they always had done.

The drive to the park took place in silence, but this time, the group was feeling far more jubilant than they had in previous days. Whereas the last few times the group had set out, the silence was morose and suffocating, now the atmosphere was light and joyful. And some had even stopped to cheer for the group driving full-tilt down the road and flying through the air. Adventure Bay knew it as well as the group did: The Paw Patrol was back.

"Cali! Oh, Cali… Please come down!"

Meanwhile, in the park, Katie was stood at the bottom of the tree feeling thoroughly defeated and somewhat disgusted. She wasn't exactly happy at getting the dubious honour of being the first person to be outright refused rescue by the Paw Patrol, but more than that, not only did it seem that Ryder hadn't gotten better after all, but Cali was now stuck up a tree with no way down.

And from the bushes, four pairs of eyes watched eagerly.

"Jake, are you sure this is gonna work?" Carlos whispered. "I've never seen Ryder straight up say 'no' to someone in danger before."

"He's even rescued ME a lot." Mayor Humdinger added quietly. "He can't hate someone THAT much, can he?"

"That's not gonna last long, dudes." Jake replied. "I've talked to Ev a couple nights ago, and she said that Marshall asked her not to hate Cali for all this. And Carlos, didn't you say that Tracker doesn't hate Cali, either? Those three ain't gonna let that slide."

"I hope you're right, Jake..." Mayor Goodway whispered worriedly. "Not only will Ryder feel even worse if this goes wrong, but I don't know if we can get Cali down ourselves!"

But as they heard the wail of sirens, their spirits began to raise.

"Is… that…?" Carlos whispered.

And upon turning to look at the source of the noise, Jake beamed.

"Told ya!" Jake said proudly.

"Cali! Ohhh..." Katie sighed, after several minutes of trying to call her cat down from the tree. "How could Ryder just turn his back on me like that…?"

"I've been asking the same thing all the way here."

Katie's heart stopped at the familiar voice behind her. And turning around only jolted it back into action from the gasp borne of the shock she got at seeing a familiar brown-haired boy standing in front of her, with a huge fleet of colourful vehicles behind him.

"Ryder!" Katie cried. "You… You changed your mind?!"

"Well..." Ryder gave a sad smile and turned around to look at the group of pups behind him. "...I did. But I had help. I didn't change it all by myself."

"Urgh, well even if you did, how could you just… refuse to help someone like that?!" Katie demanded, her surprise turning into an angry glare.

Ryder's smile melted away into a sad expression. "I know, Katie. I shouldn't have yelled at you at all... I was out of line… WAY out of line. I'm really sorry… But, you know? I think I've been out of line for the last few days straight. I mean, you've been trying to help me for so long… And I keep pushing you away..."

Katie calmed down after a while and adopted a sympathetic expression, moving forward to place a hand on Ryder's shoulder as he looked down sadly. But now, Ryder didn't try to push Katie's hand off.

"Maybe." she began softly. "But even if you have, I can see that you've been trying to get back IN line. You look way better, for one thing. And if you want to keep going, then you can start by leading this rescue, right?"

Ryder looked back up at her with a grin of determination. "Right! So I'm not gonna waste any more time." Ryder looked back behind him. "Chase?"

"Gotcha." Chase replied. "Ruff! Net!"

And at Chase's command, the net flew forth from his Pup Pack and landed at the foot of the tree right below Cali, who was looking surprisingly-bewildered. But none of the pups cared to look towards her knowing what was coming up next. Instead, they were all focused on a dalmatian wearing a blank expression. Nobody could seem to get a read on how he was feeling.

"Marshall..." Ryder began. "...you know what to do. Right?"

"Yup." Marshall replied bluntly, moving his truck into position below the tree.

"Marshall, are you… sure you wanna go through with this?" Katie asked, the memory of the news of her cat causing Marshall's accident in the first place still fresh in her mind. "You don't look like you do..."

"Just focused." Marshall replied. "I'm not taking my eyes off the ball now. Not after last time."

"Be careful, Marshall..." Skye called worriedly.

"Don't worry about me, Skye. Arf, arf! Ladder!"

With these words, the ladder extended from Marshall's truck, slowly reaching towards Cali in the tree. Cali's shocked expression never changed even as the ladder finally reached her. Marshall hopped to the ladder's base, and prepared himself to start climbing. And feeling the fear radiating off of the group, Marshall turned back to them.

"Guys… You've got nothing to worry about. I'm going to be fine."

"Easy for YOU to say..." Rocky retorted.

"I'm gonna make SURE nothing happens this time. Believe me." Marshall replied.

"And what if something does happen?" Chase asked.

"Isn't that why you're here right now?" Marshall countered.

"You want us to catch you if you fall off?" Rubble offered.

"What I WANT… is for you to trust me."

Offering his trademark cheerful grin, Marshall turned back to climb his ladder, slowly taking things one step at a time. The way he moved was practically-catlike in and of itself. Throughout the whole thing, Cali's eyes looked ready to fall out of her head as Marshall got closer, before finally standing before her.

"We've REALLY gotta stop meeting up like this, Cali." Marshall joked. "People are already saying stuff."

Cali didn't move. It was as if Marshall was talking to a statue.

"I know, I know, people saying stuff is the problem, huh? But hey, it's all OK, now. You can come down."

To Marshall's surprise, Cali vigorously shook her head. It was one thing for Ryder to refuse to rescue someone. It was another for someone to refuse to be rescued.

"Cali? Wh-What's wrong?"

Cali stared at Marshall further.

"Is… Is it my fur? Too spotty? Not spotty enough?"

An unimpressed look from the cat proved that Marshall's attempt at defusing the tension had fallen flat. In truth, Marshall knew full well why Cali didn't want to try coming down Marshall's ladder again. After all, that was where everything had gone wrong in the past. Marshall knew he'd have to do some more work to get Cali down.

"This is about a few days ago, isn't it? You're scared of me falling off my ladder again? And I guess being stuck in a tree doesn't help, huh?"

Cali's continued silence, along with her arched back, told all. Marshall desperately wanted to tell Cali that what happened days ago wasn't her fault. But then, he knew that he'd be lying.

"Look, Cali… I don't blame you for what happened. At all. I know you were just scared. You needed rescuing just like anyone else. And hey, I was scared, too! I mean, just looking at that river was making my head spin!"

Down below, everyone stared up at Marshall talking to Cali, hanging on his every word,

"What's he doing up thewe?" Zuma asked uncertainly.

"He's… trying to calm her down, by the looks of it." Everest replied.

"It does looks like Cali's a little scared." Tracker observed.

"Well, if it looked like I'd ended up getting someone killed last time they rescued me, I'd be scared of something happening, too." Skye observed snidely.

"C'mon, Skye..." Rubble protested. "Don't be like that… Marshall already told us to stop hating her, didn't he?

Skye sighed heavily. "That's a little easier said than done, Rubble..."

"C'mon, Marshall..." Rocky muttered. "You can do it..."

"That's right, Marshall..." Ryder whispered to himself. "Calm her down first..."

"Looks like he's got this, huh?" Katie offered.

Chase, however, was completely quiet. He had already left his truck and had walked to the base of Marshall's truck, staring up at him like a hawk, seemingly waiting for anything to go wrong. The worry was written all over the shepherd's face.

"But that was days ago. It's all in the past, now. I'm here to save you just like I've always done. And right now I'm ready for anything." Marshall continued.

Cali's back wasn't arched anymore. And slowly, her eyes narrowed a little. The dalmatian's words were clearly causing the cat to relax a little.

"That's the spirit..." Marshall gently reassured. "I know what I'm doing now, and you don't have anything to worry about. All you need to do is just hop on to my ladder. You've got this. You can do it."

Everything about Cali seemed far more relaxed and less surprised.

"Everything's gonna be fine." Marshall reiterated.

Those final words seemed to give the cat the courage she needed to jump to Marshall's ladder. With the spotted pup a few rungs down and slightly to the left, Cali had just enough room to land on the penultimate rung and keep her balance. Her eyes were squeezed shut for a couple of seconds, but she carefully opened them to see that she was now off the tree and on Marshall's ladder. Looking to her right, she noticed Marshall smiling warmly down at her.

"What did I tell you?" Marshall asked. "You did it!"

Cali stared at Marshall for a little while, before leaning over and rubbing her face against his leg in gratitude.

"Aww..." Marshall cooed. "Head on down, OK? Katie's waiting for you."

"Mew!"

Seeming to be happier than she had been in days, Cali swiftly hopped down the rungs one by one. And slowly, everyone's faces started to light up below.

"Cali's… coming down?" Rocky whispered.

"She's OK?" Zuma asked.

"It… looks like it..." Everest observed.

"And she even looks… happy!" Tracker added in surprise.

"And Marshall looks OK, too!" Rubble said with excitement.

"Then… that could only mean..." Skye squeaked.

The realisation began to sink in for everyone. Even Chase was starting to feel the infectious hope spreading throughout the group. Their smiles soon grew too wide for their faces to accommodate, and everyone, Ryder and Katie included, yelled at the tops of their voices.

" **MARSHALL DID IT!!!** "

As flattering and uplifting as it felt to hear everyone cheering for him, Marshall was more amused than anything. He couldn't help but feel like everyone was making too big a deal out of him saving Cali like always. And yet, it served as a testament to how much everyone needed to see him doing this. They all needed to have their doubts put to rest just as much as he needed to prove himself. And he felt like he'd knocked it out of the park. Satisfied with a job well done, Marshall began to descend from his ladder.

However, the speckled pup had only gotten a couple of rungs down before overestimating one of his steps, moving his back paw to one of the rungs, only for it to come into contact with a vast amount of nothingness.

"WHOA-!" Marshall yelped as he fought to regain his balance, leaning back a great amount. The group below gasped as Marshall began to rear up.

"MAAAAAARSHAAAAAAAAALLLL!!!" Chase screamed, bolting forward and flying onto Marshall's truck, tearing up the ladder to try and save his friend.

"Cha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ase?!!" Marshall shouted waveringly as he wobbled back and forth, feeling the tremors of another presence on his ladder. Inevitably, the distraction caused by Chase had diverted Marshall's attention away from keeping his balance long enough for him to start to topple over backwards. This being, of course, as Chase had started to reach him.

Of course, the shepherd's intent was to grab on to Marshall before he toppled over, but it seemed that all he could do now was break Marshall's fall, as the black and white pillar began to fall onto him. Chase only had enough time for one phrase before impact:

"Aw, no."

And then, the inevitable. Marshall fell backwards onto Chase, smashing the shepherd against the ladder's rungs and knocking out his balance at the same time, sending the pair bouncing the down the ladder in a giant, furry boulder.

"Ow-! Ergh-! Oof-! Ack-! Eeh-! Argh-! Ugh-! UMPH!!"

Then came the impact. The two pups lay in the cabin of Marshall's fire truck, seeing stars for a short while before blinking them away, quietly taking stock of what had just happened. Of the silly mistake they had both made that had ended with the pair of them sprawled at the foot of Marshall's ladder. It was oddly nostalgic. Uplifting in a way. The pair looked each other in the eyes for a while, before Marshall and Chase grew identical amused smirks.

It seemed that the longer time wore on, the funnier that this particular wipeout was. Their smirks widened into dopey grins, accompanied by snickering. Snickering that soon grew into giggling. Giggling which grew into laughter. Laughter that slowly escalated in volume and intensity. And before they knew it, Marshall and Chase were howling in hysterical, uncontrollable mirth.

At first, the others didn't view what had happened to be quite as funny as Chase and Marshall both did. But slowly, the two's joy started to infect everyone, as the entire group went from giggling, to laughing, to shrieking hysterically. Even Ryder wasn't immune, as he cried and his face turned scarlet for the second time in days. Only this time, he was overwhelmingly-happy, bending over and clutching his stomach, straining himself from laughing so hard. Some of the pups hammered their steering wheels as they laughed, others draped themselves over the sides of their vehicles, and a couple fell out altogether, flailing their limbs in the air as they laughed. And Katie found herself giggling like a madwoman as her greatest wish had come to life before her: The Paw Patrol were back to their old selves again.

And from the distance in the bushes, four faces smiled warmly as they looked on at the Paw Patrol's first successful mission in days.

"Nailed it." Jake whispered fondly.

"Well done, Jake!" Goodway congratulated, slapping Jake on the back.

"Looks like I figured you all wrong." Humdinger replied happily.

"Oh, menos mal… Thank goodness..." Carlos sighed.

The group was still laughing when they saw Katie and Cali off and headed back to the Lookout. And even on the drive back, a few had to pull over from time to time thanks to them all wearing themselves out from laughing so hard. But eventually, the entire group made it back to the Lookout and had managed to calm down, with everyone stumbling clumsily into the Lookout and flopping down around Ryder, who himself had flopped down in a beanbag in the corner. Everyone had to take a few moments to collect themselves before Ryder finally spoke.

"That… was a job well done..." Ryder wheezed. "...REALLY well done… I'd say… the Paw Patrol… is officially back..."

"After what just happened?" Marshall sighed. "I can't disagree."

"Maybe now… things are totally back to normal…?" Chase gasped.

The pups all made scattered noises of agreement in response. All except one. But no-one noticed Skye's lack of agreement as Marshall clambered on top of Ryder, who responded with a tight hug and a kiss to Marshall's head.

"And it's all because YOU'RE back, Marshall." Ryder whispered as he embraced his pup.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Ryder." Marshall replied, happily nuzzling the boy. "It's not the Paw Patrol without you leading us. And maybe we talked you into coming back, but in the end, it was your choice to get back out there..."

Every pup present wagged their tail happily at the sight. Marshall had managed to say what they were all thinking. In the end, the Paw Patrol wasn't complete without Ryder at the helm. And all of them were beyond happy that all of the holes in their team had been filled. But for one of them, the spectre of what was to come still hung over their heads, even if the other pups weren't calling attention to it. But this pup decided to wait for a while before bringing it up. About five minutes passed of the pups and Ryder basking in the warmth of the moment they shared before Everest spoke up.

"So, er… what now? We just… go back to the way things were before last week? We can't just get over what happened just like that, can we?"

"Who says we're over it?" Chase asked. "We're gonna be feeling this for a long time… But I think we're gonna have an easier time getting past what happened after today, right guys?"

Chase turned to the rest of the pups, who all nodded eagerly.

"I hate to be that pup, Chase, but aren't we all forgetting something?" Skye piped up.

Suddenly, an air of confusion engulfed the Lookout.

"¿Olvidando? Forgetting? ¿Que?" Tracker asked.

"Are we?" Rocky added.

"Uhh… I'm sowwy Skye, but I have no idea." Zuma conceded.

"Me neither." Rubble chimed in.

"Me three." Everest concurred.

Chase giggled mirthlessly and quietly. "I guess the last couple of days have been kinda hectic. Easy enough to forget, huh?"

"You're talking about the funeral, aren't you?" Ryder asked, deciding to cut to the chase.

And just like that, the mood plummeted. Indeed, the pups had completely forgotten about the funeral that was coming up. Skye was one of the only exceptions, having been the one who was the most heavily involved in its planning aside from Mayor Goodway. Most of the pups were reduced to sad whining.

"Mmm-hmm..." Skye sighed sadly.

"Aww, man..." Marshall whispered. "...I totally forgot about that..."

"From the sounds of it, we all did." Ryder replied. "What's even going on with that, anyway? I, er… I haven't really been around to ask about it."

"How did you know there was gonna be a funeral, Ryder?" Rubble asked earnestly.

"Because we all thought Marshall was dead! It's not like we WEREN'T gonna have a funeral, right?"

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Skye said with a shrug. "Anyway, the last time I talked about the funeral was with Mayor Goodway on the day Marshall came back. She told me not to worry about it, and that she was gonna handle it from here on out. We DID wonder if we should call it off, but Marshall wanted it to go ahead anyway."

"All by herself?" Ryder asked. "Just like that?"

"Apparently!" Skye replied. "I did ask her if she was sure, and she said 'I've been through enough already' and that I 'needed a break'."

"And she was right… no thanks to me..." Chase piped up sadly.

"Don't worry about it, Chase. We've been through this, remember?" Skye asked. "Anyway. She said that the funeral's still on for Sunday."

"And it's…" Ryder paused and looked at the date on his Pup Pad. "...Thursday, now… So I guess we've got three days until the funeral, huh?"

The atmosphere was as thick as mud. Everyone had seemed to be hit with a major spell of moroseness. Nobody seemed able to look up from the floor. There was only one more loose end to tie up, but then, it was a loose end that no-one had wanted to even go near. Particularly Zuma.

"But…" Zuma began, obviously trying not to cry. "...why? It's… gonna be so sad… I… I don't wanna go..."

Ryder slowly got up with Marshall still in his arms, setting the dalmatian down on the ground and kneeling down before Zuma. "Hey, Zuma, no-one likes funerals. But you're acting like you're gonna be going alone. I want you to remember that we're all gonna be there. Yeah, it's gonna be sad, but you're NOT gonna be alone. At all."

Zuma didn't reply. He continued to stare at the floor in silence.

"So all I want you to do right now is to be brave. We'll all be with you. And we're gonna get through this together. Do you think you can do that for me, Zuma?"

"I know you can do it, Zuma. You're one of the coolest pups I know!" Marshall encouraged.

These words brought a smile back to Zuma's face. Albeit a sad one.

"Wyder… Mawshall… I'll twy my best..." Zuma whispered slowly.

"That's the spirit, Zuma. You're such a good pup..." Ryder replied fondly, giving Zuma a much-appreciated scratching behind the ear.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Rocky asked.

Ryder stood up. "I say we take it easy until the funeral. We've all earned ourselves some rest, and I don't know about all of you, but all I wanna do is watch TV with all of you. Does that sound good?"

Looking across the entire group, every single pup was nodding vigourously. And this was all the encouragement that Ryder needed to move his beanbag next to the TV, calmly watching cartoons with his pups for the rest of the day, even being joined by Jake and Carlos when they eventually came back to the Lookout.

For the remaining time leading up to the funeral, the entire group did barely anything except for watch TV and read a few books together. At no point did they dare to separate except to go to the bathroom. Every night for that time was spent sleeping together in Ryder's bed, with nobody daring to sleep apart in case of nightmares. Once more, the Paw Patrol had fallen silent, having retreated into the Lookout to lick their wounds in the run up to what was sure to be a bruising, draining funeral.

A funeral with a twist. And a funeral that every single member was going to face together.


	29. It's Your Funeral

If it was possible for one place to have all of the joy sucked out of it, Adventure Bay would likely fit the bill. The sky was shrouded with clouds, blocking off any possible sunlight that could've cut through the bleak atmosphere. It was possible to hear a pin drop in almost every corner of the town. Tumbleweeds practically blew across everywhere that wasn't City Hall, where the entire town had gathered for a solemn goodbye.

Adventure Bay had never been so populated before. A sea of humanity and dogs alike were crammed into the space in front of City Hall, including a pair of near-identical pups with golden fur and blue eyes. It seemed that all of Adventure Bay was there, along with a huge population of people who weren't even from the town. The exploits of the Paw Patrol had reached far and wide, and hearing about the death of just one of the group had clearly hurt immensely for not just the town, but for everyone even remotely-near it. Not just who the Paw Patrol had helped, but for everyone inspired and heartened by their exploits.

From Foggy Bottom and beyond, everyone had come to say their goodbyes to one of Adventure Bay's heroes. The atmosphere of despair and gloom hung heavy over everyone present, and everyone was dressed from top to toe in black and other dark colours. In all, the atmosphere was perfect for a funeral…

...or perhaps it would be if the subject of the funeral was actually dead. And if the subject of the funeral wasn't in attendance with everyone else.

There was practically no elbow room in City Hall's gardens, which had black banners dotted around it. Some bearing Marshall's flame emblem and with some bearing the emblem of the Paw Patrol. In amongst these were speakers and portraits of the pup himself, including the very same one that stood in front of Marshall's Pup House a few days ago. All of them bearing the smiling face of the Paw Patrol's fire pup. And surrounding each portait was a cluster of flowers of various colours, but of course, the most prominent one was Marshall's red.

And at the front of City Hall stood a large, light-brown stage in the centre of the garden. In the centre of the stage stood a large, black podium that also bore Marshall's flame emblem, with a milk crate stood up behind the podium. Just behind it stood a massive object covered up by a large tarp. The shape was indistinguishable, but a couple of attendees had a good idea of what it might have been.

Looking down over the sheer size of the crowd was enough to intimidate many of the pups. Even with familiar faces such as the Turbots, Farmers Al and Yumi, the Porters and Danny among them, they weren't used to crowds of this size. But it was worse for four of them, who wanted to speak before the crowd. At that point, stage fright was hardly exclusive to Marshall. They were, however, thankful for the absences of Sweetie and Harold Humdinger. Presences so malevolent would be furthest thing from welcome on an occasion as sombre as this.

All members of the Paw Patrol occupied one side of the stage, with Katie, Jake and Carlos standing by Ryder's side. And on the other side stood Mayor Goodway and Mayor Humdinger, the former waiting to move to the podium to make her speech. Everyone was dressed in black suits and dresses, includng the pups, in one of the few times you'd ever see the Paw Patrol all wearing the same colour. Marshall couldn't but feel uncomfortable. The entire crowd was there because of him, and not many can say that they had attended their own funerals.

The dalmatian stole another glance around the stage. He looked left to see Chase, Skye and Everest standing in a row, with most of them looking sadly at the floor. He looked right to see Zuma, Rubble, Rocky and Tracker standing in another row, with all of them looking incredibly upset. Clearly, the fact that no-one had died made no difference to them.

He looked behind him. Ryder's face remained as blank as it had been for the last few days leading up to the funeral. But he seemed to be forcing a look of neutrality. As the funeral drew nearer, Ryder had grown quieter and quieter, barely reacting to anything save for people talking to him. But thankfully, he hadn't regressed to the point of shutting himself away again. In fact, he didn't even have the courage to sleep apart from his pups on any night since the night he finally broke down. All he had the energy to do was sit in front of the TV without moving a muscle. Clearly, the funeral was bothering him immensely. Mercifully, rescues had remained at zero ever since they had rescued Cali again.

On his left were Jake and Carlos. On his right was Katie. All of them looked sad as well, but most of their attention was focused on Ryder. Jake had one arm draped over the boy's shoulders, while Katie had her hand on his arm. Even the two mayors looked unusually morose. The only absence aside from Harold Humdinger and Sweetie was Cali. She was hugely apprehensive of going to the funeral, and Katie didn't blame her one bit. But as for the Paw Patrol, she was the furthest thing from their minds.

Until the time had finally arrived. 12PM. The official start time of the funeral. It was to be a relatively brief affair, but one that would feel like forever to the Paw Patrol. Seeing this, Mayor Goodway looked at Mayor Humdinger and tapped her watch. With a nod from the top hat-wearing mayor, Goodway slowly walked to the podium while taking a deep breath. Stopping in front of it, she paused for a while before opening her mouth.

"Citizens of Adventure Bay..." she began in a manner that was composed, but at the same time, obviously pained. "...Foggy Bottom, and all those who came so far to be with us today… We are gathered here to remember and be thankful for what we still have. And what we nearly lost so long ago." The woman cast her eyes over to the cluster of children and pups to her right. "Over a week ago, the Paw Patrol were conducting a rescue in the forest… only for tragedy to strike. In that time, Marshall fell into a fast-flowing river..." Mayor Goodway audibly swallowed. "...and for three days, was presumed dead. What followed… was likely the darkest three days this town has ever had the misfortune of seeing. In losing Marshall, this town also lost its heart. The one who had brought so much laughter to the town had vanished in a freak accident..."

Marshall looked down at the floor, wishing to be swallowed up by the stage, only to feel paws on either one of his shoulders. Looking to his sides, Chase and Zuma were both looking at him with sympathy, along with the other pups. Marshall felt a small smile return to his face.

"...but he returned." Mayor Goodway went on, sounding relieved. "After those three days, through sheer grit and perhaps luck, Marshall fought his way through the forest and returned to Adventure Bay. Despite his hunger, thirst and fear, Marshall soldiered on." Mayor Goodway shot Marshall a proud smile. "It was the happiest news I've ever had the good fortune to receive as Mayor of Adventure Bay… So that is why this funeral, initially held to bid farewell, is now being held to give thanks for what we haven't lost yet… And for what we've gotten back."

Mayor Goodway stole another glance at the upset children that occupied the right side of the stage. Clearly, what they had to say was eating away at them. Ryder, in particular, looked like he was struggling to hold himself together. The sooner he could get what he had to say off of his chest, the better.

"Now, before we begin, you will be pleased to know that the river in the forest is officially off-limits until further notice. Until the Paw Patrol can take action to limit further disasters, it simply isn't safe for anyone to go near." Mayor Goodway announced.

The relief on the faces of everyone, from the pups to the crowd, was palpable. Internally, Rubble swore to himself that he would find a way to slow the river down. He didn't care how tough it would be. Any effort would be worth it if it meant that no-one would ever have to suffer an accident like Marshall's ever again.

"Moving on, a few members of the Paw Patrol would like to talk about how they felt for the last few days. And about how grateful they are for things going back to normal." Mayor Goodway went on. "First of all, a word from Ryder, the leader of the group. Ryder?"

Mayor Goodway looked at Ryder as she stepped back from the podium. The poor boy clearly didn't want to talk about how he felt, or even be at the funeral in the first place. But he knew that it had to be done to finally close the book on the near-tragedy that had affected so many. Without looking up, Ryder slowly dragged himself towards the podium, stepping onto the milk crate behind it, straining to look at the crowd that had gathered before him. Casting his gaze at no-one in particular, Ryder began to speak, however falteringly.

"...It probably goes without saying that this has been a hard week for a lot of people." Ryder began. "Everyone here… my pups… and me. But… three days gave me a lot of time to think. Well, I gave myself a lot of time to think… Mostly about Marshall, I mean, I can't imagine life going on without him. Heck, none of us can… But also… If I was good enough to lead the Paw Patrol after all… If I deserved to have pets after one of them died on my watch… If… If I was even a good person or not..."

Ryder was beginning to get choked up. "And I realised… that I never actually think about my pups being in danger… until it's too late… I-In fact, it wasn't long ago that another one of them got seriously hurt in the mountains, and… we nearly lost him… I… love them all more than life itself… Th-There's no room in my heart for a replacement for… any of them… But times like this just make me think that I'm not cut out to take care of my pups..."

Now tears were starting to flow down Ryder's face and drip onto the podium, his attempt to keep a neutral expression failing and his voice cracking uncontrollably. "I… I… I-I… I… I thought we were all going to live forever… That… n-nothing could stop us… B-But now… I see how… s-stupid and… naive I was being… And how I couldn't even s-see how much danger we all get put through… S-Sometimes I… I thought that… th-these pups d-deserve better than me..."

If Ryder had looked back at his pups, he would've seen them all getting damp-eyed at his speech. They all wanted to charge forward and tell Ryder how there was no owner for them but him. And to comfort him through all of the pain that he was airing to the public. The crowd was starting to look worried, too, with a few even whispering concernedly amongst themselves. For what they saw on that stage wasn't the brave leader of the Paw Patrol, but a distressed, crying child.

"And… th-that's not all..." Ryder whimpered. "I… couldn't take what happened, either… And all I did was r-run and hide… I was s-so sure that I was… g-gonna get run out of town… for losing… M-Marshall… Which I wouldn't have minded, to be honest..."

To Ryder's right, the pups couldn't suppress a loud gasp at what their owner thought.

"...so I hid… I hid in my room… cut myself off from… a-anyone who wanted to… t-talk to me… And… y-yelled at anyone who… e-even tried…" Ryder was starting to struggle. "Which only made me… f-feel even worse… E-Especially when I learned… h-how much I was hurting everyone… b-by shutting them out..."

Ryder had to pause to collect himself before going on, turning his face away from the crowd and covering his eyes, trying to wipe his tears away. But they kept on coming all the same.

"It… It was only after Marshall came home… s-something I… I couldn't be… happier about… that… I… I even left my room… A-And n-no thanks to me… P-People… finally got to talk to me… G-Got me to s-stop hiding… And… one thing I was told… s-stuck with me… S-Something… M-Mayor Goodway t-told me..."

Ryder swallowed heavily as Mayor Goodway looked on in sympathy. And yet, her look also contained a measure of pride, as she knew what Ryder was about to say.

"S-sooner or later… you've… g-gotta face your… problems… E-Even when it hurts worse than anything..."

Hastily, Ryder clambered off of the crate and covered his face, trudging in tears back to the group of pups and people waiting for him. Immediately, he found himself swarmed by several crying bundles of fur, bringing him to his knees and causing him to throw his arms around the group. It would normally be surreal to Adventure Bay for them to lay eyes on such a scene, but Ryder was crying his heart out and he didn't care who knew it. Slowly, Jake, Carlos and Katie all approached the boy and kneeled down behind him, all of them bringing him into a group hug, working to calm him down from the painful speech he just gave. Mayor Goodway pushed a neutral expression onto her face as she walked back up to the podium.

"Thank you, Ryder." she began calmly. "Now, before we begin the next speech, I would like us all to take a couple minutes' silence, so that we can reflect on what was just said."

Of course, Mayor Goodway hadn't planned for the silence, but with the state that Ryder had been worked into, he had to allow for him and the pups to calm down before the day's events could go on. She moved over to the huddle on the floor and gently laid a hand on Ryder's head, his sobbing being the only sound for miles.

It was slow, but eventually, Ryder calmed down. He was still sniffling and whimpering, but he was clearly feeling at least slightly better. The pups and the remainder of the group remained where they were, continuing to comfort Ryder as Mayor Goodway moved back to the podium.

"OK." she began anew. "That should do it. Now, our next speaker is the other pup to be present on the day of the accident. One who was similarly distraught. That pup is the Paw Patrol's second in command: Chase. Chase, whenever you're ready."

Chase flinched at the mere mention of his name. For a moment, he didn't seem to know what to do, but the last thing he wanted to do was leave Ryder. He looked into the bloodshot eyes of his owner.

"Go on..." Ryder whispered hoarsely. "...I'll be fine."

Chase obviously didn't believe it, but slowly, he dragged himself away from the huddle and moved towards the podium. With reluctance, the pup jumped up on top of the milk crate and stood on his hind legs, resting his front paws on the podium. The shepherd gulped heavily as his amber eyes swept over the crowd. He didn't remember speaking in front of crowds being quite so intimidating. But when they were this size, no amount of preparation would be effective. Chase took a slow breath in through his nostrils, and one out through his mouth before inhaling again and beginning to speak.

"It's not just Ryder who went through all that… I did, too. And I handled it just as well..." Chase began guiltily. "I thought about the same things. Whether I'm good enough to even be on the Paw Patrol… whether I even deserve to be friends with all of the other pups when, as far as I'm concerned, I let one of the pups I'm closest to die right in front of me…"

Chase audibly sniffled. "A lot of people say that me and Marshall… we're like brothers. And I find that a little hard to argue with… We're not from the same litter, me and him. But… for all the good times we shared… for all the times we've been there when the other's feeling down… the times we've made each other laugh... we might as well be."

Chase looked back at the dalmatian in the huddle and gave him a sad smile. A sad smile which Marshall quickly returned.

"It might surprise you all to know that I have my own fears…" Chase continued, looking back at the crowd. "I mean, first it was the dentist… But now it's losing the ones I love… Heh, blows my fear of the dentist out of the water... And when it actually came true… When I learned what losing your family does to you firsthand... I… I had no idea what to do with myself… I felt so… small. So helpless. So… weak. People did try to talk to me, but… I couldn't find what it took to reply to them… I worried everyone by just hiding in my Pup House and crying… And in fact, I took this whole thing so badly, I seriously thought about leaving the Paw Patrol..."

Chase winced as the crowd began to chatter. Softly, but audibly. Clearly, if he had gone through with living on the streets in shame, it would have affected them as badly as it would have affected the other pups.

"Honestly, it was a miracle that Marshall found me. Heck, it was a miracle he came back at all." Chase went on sadly. "Honestly, I'd say it's all because of him that I'm here giving this speech right now. And… why we're all still together… I mean, it was because of him and Rocky that I managed to make up with Skye..."

Both pups in question went rigid, surprised that Chase would bring up such a thing. They noticed some faces in the crowd looking slightly confused.

"Yeah… I mean, because I ran away and we all thought Marshall was dead, everything got left up to Skye… And… I just left her to it… She had every right to be mad at me…"

"(No...)" Skye mouthed, noticeably shaking her head.

"...because I was a coward. I was a bad pup when everyone needed me the most..."

"Oh, Chase..." Ryder whispered sympathetically.

It was no surprise to hear about the pain that Chase was in, nor was it any surprise to hear about how much he blamed himself. But that didn't cushion the impact of his words any. But Chase still wasn't done, as he sniffled and took another breath in.

"You know..." Chase continued. "While I was making up with Skye, she told me something that I honestly don't think about all that much… She told me that we're all only pups… A bunch of little kids… And thinking about it… she's absolutely right. None of us could've taken losing someone so close to us… And we all depend on each other more than we realise… Maybe we expect too much of ourselves… And those expectations all led to what happened last week..."

Chase inhaled and exhaled slowly, swallowing before concluding his speech.

"So yeah, I'm over the moon that Marshall came back and that we're all back together… But I took everything I had for granted… And I. Will. NEVER. Let anything like it happen again. Like Ryder said, I can't imagine going on without Marshall. But I think I take something else for granted too. And that's… well, that I'm still just a kid. And I think we all take being kids for granted." Chase smiled slightly. "Who knows? Maybe now we'll work to change that."

Slowly, Chase hopped down from the podium and walked away, somehow feeling a lot lighter with the emotional load he had been bearing being lifted. He quickly moved back to the huddle and joined back in, with Ryder rubbing his back and letting Chase lick his cheek, complete with Skye nuzzling him. The group had to admit, the shepherd's words had made waves with all of them. Mayor Goodway walked back to the podium.

"Thank you, Chase. That was lovely." Mayor Goodway began sincerely, casting a warm smile in the group's direction. "And you make such good points, too. But now, another pup would like to speak."

Skye shuddered, knowing that Mayor Goodway was referring to her. Though she calmed down slightly when she felt Ryder patting her head. She had a fair amount to get off her chest, too.

"This pup has bravely led the Paw Patrol in the absence of its leaders in this difficult time." Mayor Goodway continued. "She has been the public face of the team. Skye, if you please."

With a sharp breath in through her nose, Skye strode forward and hopped onto the milk crate, standing on her hind legs. The size of the crowd intimidated her slightly, but not enough to stop her from immediately launching into her speech.

"Chase is wrong."

Skye's blunt beginning caught everyone off guard, causing everyone to jump.

"He hasn't been a bad pup, lately. I have." Skye began. "See, Chase thinks that it's all his fault we've been so miserable the last few weeks. That it's because of him we started falling apart until Marshall came back." Skye gave a small, rueful smirk. "It's just like him to blame himself, really."

"Huh?" Chase whispered in confusion.

"But the truth is… I wasn't much better. Heck, I'd say I was worse. For all the time Marshall was gone, everyone was counting on me… They were all counting on me to lead them… to answer all the hard questions… to try and make them feel better… And I..." Skye lowered her head in shame. "...did a pretty crummy job, not gonna lie..."

Skye sighed heavily before continuing. "I did all I could to try and keep it together… All that time… I felt like I had to be brave for everyone… To push back how horrible I was feeling… But all it did was make me feel worse… And in the end, it just made me get angry at the ones who didn't deserve it… When I finally saw Ryder and Chase… I just screamed at both of them… Two people who deserved it the least… I just kept bottling my feelings up until it all exploded..."

For a long time, Skye paused. Clearly, the cockapoo was still feeling guilty, and as much as she tried to mask it, her whining was still very audible through the microphone on the front of the podium. She sounded like she was doing her best to keep it together.

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that I'm NOT ready to lead at all..." Skye whimpered. "...not by a long shot. Especially not if I bottle things up so much that it just leads to me blowing up the way I did…"

Skye sniffled again. "Wh-When… When Marshall came home… That was all the proof I needed to know that miracles DO exist… But it didn't fix everything… Not right away… It sure didn't fix how bitter I was for three days. And I'm still kinda surprised that Chase and Ryder forgive me after how I treated them… I mean, I sure as heck don't deserve it..."

"Don't be silly, Skye..." Chase whispered.

"Yes, you do..." Ryder added quietly.

"...and this all could've been avoided if I'd just let people know how I was feeling…" Skye continued, the crowd enraptured by her speech. "I mean, it wouldn't have helped me with all of my worry, but… I probably wouldn't have blown up the way I did if I hadn't been holding onto all my sadness for three days..."

Skye took some deep breaths before continuing on. "So I'm gonna work to change that. I've made a lot of mistakes, yeah, but I've also learned a lot." Surprisingly, Skye actually smiled, even though her pink eyes were visibly watery. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be a leader… But I sure as heck can be a better friend… To Chase, to Ryder, to Marshall… And to, well, everyone!"

Skye's smile shifted to a more determined one. "I'm not gonna make the same mistakes twice. Watch me."

Hopping down from the podium, Skye was surprisingly still wet-eyed from her speech, even though she also had yet to stop smiling. Almost as soon as she reached the huddle was she scooped back into Ryder's arms, who hugged her tightly as Chase licked her cheek. She was surprised to be greeted with Ryder whispering reassurances to her. That she was being silly in believing that she didn't deserve forgiveness. Skye felt even worse, and yet, at the same time, overwhelmingly happy that in the end, perhaps things were going to be alright. Once more, Mayor Goodway walked back to the podium.

"Thank you, Skye." Mayor Goodway began. "You're such a brave pup… Now. Before our time here comes to a close. Before the grand unveiling of Adventure Bay's newest monument: one more pup would like to speak. A bit of an unplanned appearance, but perhaps the most welcome one of all."

Marshall's blood ran cold. Even before the funeral started, he was feeling the stage fright consuming him at the prospect of having to speak in front of a crowd, and sheer size of it was not helping. His fright must have been visible, because the next thing he heard was Skye's voice, along with feeling her paw on his back.

"Don't be scared, Marshall..." she whispered. "You'll be fine. I know you can do it."

"You've got this, Marshall." Ryder added.

As much as he didn't want to believe it, somehow the two's words had at least some measure of effect on the nervous dalmatian.

"Not many can say that they've spoken at their own funeral." Goodway continued. "But thanks to his sheer grit and courage, Marshall has managed to beat the odds and come home safely. Something that I would be so bold as to say that everyone here is grateful for. And earlier on, I was told that Marshall would have some words that he'd want to say to us. Marshall? Please take your time."

With a heavy heart and even heavier legs, Marshall slowly dragged himself to the podium, constantly fighting the urge to freeze up or run for the hills. His breathing only quickened as he approached the podium, and he nearly fell over as he attempted to climb onto the milk crate.

But when he finally succeeded, it took all the speckled pup had to not faint at seeing such a huge crowd. If he could sweat, then Marshall would likely be the canine equivalent of a waterfall. So many faces. So many eyes. All trained on him. His shallow, rapid breathing was very audible over the microphone. Marshall attempted to will his vocal cords into action, but they stubbornly refused to budge. They were as petrified as he was.

Marshall scanned the crowd. There were a lot of sympathetic and worried faces among them. Perhaps they were taking pity on the tongue-tied pup. He looked over at the two mayors, who seemed to be wincing in solidarity with him. He looked back over at Ryder and the others. All but two were giving him worried looks.

And the two that weren't were Chase and Skye, who were instead smiling reassuringly from within the pile. Chase in particular, sat facing Marshall. The shepherd raised his paws to his chest, simultaneously taking a slow, deep breath in through his nose, making sure that every one of his actions was plainly visible. He paused for a second, before steadily breathing out through his mouth and extending his paws towards Marshall with the same reassuring smile.

Realising what Chase was trying to tell him, Marshall copied his actions carefully. And again. Internally, the spotted pup was amazed at how well that technique worked as he felt his heart slow to a more reasonable pace. His mouth was still dry and his thoughts were still somewhat scattered. However, most importantly, Marshall found the courage to will his voice to work.

"E-Errrm… I-I..." Marshall began falteringly. "...W-Well, ah… I-It's… It's a little hard to describe how it feels to give a speech at your own funeral… 'Awkward' would be a good word for it, I guess..."

The ensuing silence gave Marshall the feeling that the crowd agreed with him.

"I-I… I don't really know where to start… I mean, heh, a whole lot went on for me in the last week… A-Actually, I guess I'll start at the beginning..."

Hoping that describing his time alone in the woods would come naturally to him, Marshall cast his mind back to the time shortly after he started to walk back to Adventure Bay.

"When I fell in the river that day… I thought that was the end of me… I thought I was gonna die… So when I woke up in the middle of who-knows-where in a pile of smashed gear with a few bruises… well, no-one was more surprised than me, lemme tell you."

Ryder was thankful that Marshall didn't look back at him in time to catch his expression of remorse.

"For three days, I hiked through the forest hoping to get back to Adventure Bay somehow… All I had to eat was grass and leaves… Better than nothing, but no way for a pup to eat… And if my Pup Pack didn't have water left in it…" Marshall swallowed. "...well, it's probably better if we don't think about it. But on top of all that… I was so lonely… I mean, there weren't any wild animals to worry about, but at the same time… I was so scared I was never gonna see Adventure Bay ever again..."

Skye failed to suppress a strangled sob. Unfortunately for her, Marshall heard it, and ended up accidentally making things worse with a sad look cast her way.

"Now..." Marshall began anew, looking back at the crowd. "...I want you all to know that this was nobody's fault. I don't blame anyone for what happened those three days. Of course no-one came for me, I mean, anyone who saw what happened would think there was no way anyone could survive falling into a river that fast… But… I'm kind of telling a lie, since… I still kinda blame myself for what happened..."

"Wh-?!" Chase near shrieked.

"Shh!" Ryder cautioned.

Chase, however, managed to catch Marshall's attention, despite the dalmatian not turning to face him. Much though he tried not to, Marshall audibly sniffled into the microphone.

"I mean, if I'd known that the whole team would nearly fall apart, I probably woulda been more careful! I mean, all because of what happened, Ryder shut himself off, Chase nearly left, Skye had to deal with it all, and everyone was just… just… I… GAH-!!"

Marshall pounded the podium with a paw in frustration, finding himself unable to get his words regarding the matter out. Those who looked closely would also see his eyes beginning to water. But Marshall didn't speak for a while, spending a few seconds trying to get his thoughts straight before continuing.

"...and I can't help but think that this was my fault, somehow..." Marshall whimpered. "Things are getting better, yeah, but… we'd all be happier if this never happened in the first place. Maybe I'm just being silly, but… If I wasn't such a klutz, none of this would be happening..."

Marshall had to push back his surprise at hearing footsteps from the side, along with the sound of paws.

"I've been left with a lot to think about… Like how much I meant to everyone… as well as how much they mean to me. Ryder… Chase… Skye… everyone. These guys are everything to me. And seeing how much they all suffered… it… it hurts… worse than anything… I mean, nearly starving to death all by myself, that's nothing… All I could think about was them… Wondering how they'd take the news… And now that I know..."

Marshall swallowed as if he had just taken a mouthful of broken glass. Now the tears leaking forth from his eyes were very visible, although the pup's watery vision stopped him from noticing the sad and sympathetic looks on the faces of the crowd.

"...I… I can't let it happen again… N-Not ever… I-I don't have it in me to make everyone suffer like that again… I… I swear, I'll be a better fire pup from now on… N-Nobody's going to get hurt from me being clumsy ever again!" Suddenly, Marshall's eyes narrowed into a tearful, determined glare. "You can take that to the bank!!"

And just like that, as he concluded his speech, Marshall's energy bled out. He started to make his way off of the milk crate and off of the podium, only to be surprised as he felt himself being scooped into a waiting Ryder's arms, who tightly embraced the damp-eyed pup before sinking back to his knees.

"You. Are. WRONG, mister." Ryder whispered. "We don't think this is your fault. Not in the slightest. You'd better stop blaming yourself, you hear?"

"What are you thinking, man?!" Chase added, putting his paws around Marshall's shoulders. "I thought you said you didn't blame anyone! That should include you! It's not your fault at all!"

The remaining four pups didn't say anything, but instead crowded around the three in another group hug. Jake, Everest, Carlos, Tracker and Katie all stayed where they were, smiling warmly. This told Marshall everything without the use of any words. All he could do was snuggle into Ryder's embrace, the pup weeping slightly as he felt his family's love. To the extent that he didn't notice Mayor Goodway returning to the podium.

"I don't think anyone blames anyone, Marshall. Least of all you." Mayor Goodway began reassuringly into the microphone. "But if there's one thing we've learned… well, I'd say it's that you truly don't know when to quit."

"Yes I do..." Marshall whispered to the rest of the group, smiling slightly. "...and that's 'never'."

Marshall's assertion only caused Ryder and Chase to hug him even more tightly.

"And so, with the final pup having spoken, our time here is drawing to a close. But before I give my final speech… it's time to reveal Adventure Bay's newest monument."

The crowd could be heard murmuring amongst themselves.

"Now… when it looked like Marshall had died… I commissioned a statue for the Town Hall. One that would always remind us of who we lost. One that ensured that one of Adventure Bay's finest pups would never, ever be forgotten. And what he had done for our town. But with Marshall's survival… well, there wasn't really any need for remembering just one, was there?"

The pups and Ryder all shot confused expressions at one another.

"So I asked for some modifications to be made. And on such short notice, I was honestly doubting it could be done. But thankfully, it seems I worry too much. But just before I reveal it, I would also like to let everyone know that we will be undergoing a period of silence while we play a special song that was specifically requested by Skye."

"You asked for a song?" Marshall whispered to Skye, who was receiving a lot of inquisitive looks.

"Well… I thought it only made sense." Skye whispered back with a sad smile.

All was quiet as Mayor Goodway slowly made her way to the huge, tarp-covered object at the back of the stage. And with some effort, she pulled the tarp to the floor with as much of a theatric flourish as she could muster.

The sight caused the entire Paw Patrol's jaws to practically fall off. The loud, collective gasp they emitted could be heard from the middle row. Standing before them was a massive cast-iron statue of Marshall in his firefighter gear, standing tall with his water cannons primed. One that was familiar to Skye, Rocky, Rubble and Zuma.

But there was a rather large difference to be seen to how Mayor Goodway had initially presented it to the four. Now, instead of the statue consisting of Marshall by himself, he was flanked on either side by statues of Chase with his megaphone and Skye with her wings spread. Stood behind them was a statue of Ryder, looking as happy and confident as ever. And behind him was a statue of Rocky, with Zuma and Rubble at his sides. All three of them in their gear, and all looking as confident as the other statues that surrounded them.

Nobody had any words. At the base of the statue was a golden plaque, flanked on either side by the emblem of the Paw Patrol. But nobody cared to read it. They were too busy gawking at the statue in all of its glory, astonished that something like this could be made in their honour.

Then the music started. After a few seconds of silence, a soft, classical piano song started to play through the speakers. Silence fell over the crowd as the music played. In any other scenario, it would put someone at ease. But the gentle music only served to pull at the heartstrings on this occasion.

And Ryder and his pups were swiftly reduced to quietly weeping as they held each other tightly, all overwhelmed with emotion.


	30. Ashes on the Wind

After Mayor Goodway's speech and the period of silence over Skye's requested song, most of the crowd had dispersed. There were still a lot of people and dogs left over, but the majority of them had gone their separate ways. Though a few had remained behind to gawk at the new statue or talk to Ryder and the pups. Not that the boy was intending to stay at the wake for very long. Refreshments had been provided by the Porters, and Jake had offered to get Ryder a cup of juice, an offer which he had been quick to accept.

Just in front of the statue, Ryder was sat down on a bench, occasionally taking sips of his juice. His expression could best be described as neutral, but above all, Ryder looked drained. As if the final step in closing the book on the group's tragedy had taken all of it out of him. He was flanked on either side by Mayor Goodway and Jake, with Chase sat in Ryder's lap, and Carlos, Katie, Mayor Humdinger and the remaining pups all looking on as the group sat in silence.

"How are you feeling, Ryder?" Mayor Goodway asked gently.

Ryder waited to take another sip before answering her. "Tired…" he sighed. "...a little sad, but… mostly just… tired."

"Big surprise there." Jake replied. "You've been through a whole lot, dude. Ah, what am I saying? All of us have."

"But it's not over, right?" Ryder asked.

"I don't think it will be for a long time, Ryder." Katie replied quietly. "Maybe we'll be able to close the book on this whole thing with this funeral, but that doesn't mean you'll get over what happened just like that. But then, we're not expecting you to."

"She's right." Carlos added. "We'll always be ready to help you through this. You know that, right?"

"Heh… I sure do, now..." Ryder chuckled with a small smile.

"You've got a good group of friends here, Ryder." Mayor Humdinger said. "You help them all the time, so why not let them help you for a change?"

"Didn't think I'd ever say this, Mayor Humdinger… But you're right." Ryder replied quietly.

"You could always join us, you know?" Chase offered. "You don't have to be a troublemaker all the time."

Chase's offer caused Humdinger to stop in his tracks. For a few seconds, he bore the same expression, before he briefly twisted it into a thoughtful scowl and then let it drop into an upset frown. An expression which made the Paw Patrol feel sorry for him, a fact that deeply rattled all of them.

"That… would be great, Chase, but… I'm still Mayor of Foggy Bottom. And… my job comes first. I've loved this time of getting along with you all, but… it can't last. Once the day is out, I'll be going back home. And once that happens, it'll be back to me stirring up trouble in Adventure Bay and you'll all be back to stopping me like you always do."

"So things go back to normal, basically." Skye surmised.

"Exactly." Humdinger replied. "But I think after today, I'll be happy to have you all foiling my plans again. And since I'm so generous, I'll give you all a five minute head start next time I stir things up. How about it?"

Ryder smirked. "Can't say no to that..."

A little ways away from the gentle laughter, however, stood Marshall. He hadn't even taken notice of the group's conversation, and was instead transfixed by the gigantic statue of him and the rest of the Paw Patrol all as happy and as confident as could be. He knew that as the town's defenders, they all meant a lot to Adventure Bay, but not quite to this extreme. Marshall only blinked when his eyes began to dry out. The whole thing felt surreal, but far from unwelcome. Marshall's stupor was only broken when he felt something furry brush against his side.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Skye asked, sitting down next to Marshall.

"...I-I mean… Rubble said something about a statue, but… I never thought it'd be… something like this..." Marshall whispered in awe.

"Heh, what were you expecting, an action figure?" Skye asked with a dry smirk, causing Marshall to giggle and playfully push her over.

"Was this… meant to just be me? Like, was this a memorial for me or something?" Marshall asked quietly, looking away from the grinning cockapoo and back at the statue.

"Sure was..." Skye replied, pulling herself back up. "Ryder and everyone else only got added after I talked to Mayor Goodway."

"(I… really mean that much to Adventure Bay…?)" Marshall thought, dumbfounded. He still couldn't quite get over the fact that the town was willing to recognise any of them with a massive statue, least of all him.

"Oh yeah, I never got to see what was on the plaque..." Skye realised, looking down at the golden plaque at the base of the statue.

Finding his eye drawn there, Marshall couldn't help but look down and start to read the engraving on the plaque.

**PAW PATROL APPRECIATION STATUE**

_THIS STATUE IS DEVOTED TO THE TIRELESS DEFENDERS OF ADVENTURE BAY. COME RAIN, SNOW OR SHINE, THIS BRAVE TEAM CAN ALWAYS BE COUNTED ON TO SAVE THE DAY. MAY WE NEVER FORGET HOW MUCH WE TREASURE NOT JUST THEIR SERVICE, BUT THEIR CONSTANT COMPASSION AND UNFAILING COMPANIONSHIP._

_RYDER, CHASE, MARSHALL, SKYE, ROCKY, RUBBLE, ZUMA_

_ON A ROLL UNTIL THE BITTER END_

"Whoa..." Marshall muttered.

"You said it..." Skye added. "It… really makes you think, actually."

"Yeah, I never really think about how much we all mean to Adventure Bay, sometimes..." Marshall whispered.

"You must mean a lot to the town if you get such a huge statue!"

The two pups froze at the unfamiliar, high-pitched voice behind them. Turning to see what the source of the noise was, their vision soon filled with the figure of a pup and a human approaching them. The pup was a small, brown dachschund with golden eyes. Atop his head was a rag with red and white stripes, and dark clothing adorned his person. The human to his right looked as if he had stepped out of a pirate movie, with red hair, a pirate hat and a light-brown coat.

"Sid? Arrby?" Skye said, caught off-guard.

"Arr, surprised to see us, lass?" Sid greeted with uncharacteristic warmth.

"You bet we are!" Marshall answered for her.

"Sorry we're late, guys. The winds weren't exactly good for getting here in a hurry." Arrby explained.

"Well, late or not, it's still good that you guys made it." Skye assured.

"Shame we missed the funeral, though." Sid admitted sadly.

"Hey, the fact you guys came out in the first place is enough of a surprise!" Marshall replied.

"Arr, we not allowed to pay our respects?" Sid asked.

"Huh, no! No! Th-That's not what I meant!" Marshall stammered.

"It's OK, Marshall. We know." Arrby reassured.

Sid winked at the dalmatian, before turning his attention to the statue, contemplating it for a long while.

"Real piece o' work, ain't she?" Sid asked earnestly.

"You can say that again." Marshall replied.

"But it makes sense, don't it? I know how much ya mean to this town, ya know. And if when I borrowed yer Sea Patroller be anythin' to go by..."

"('Borrowed'. Yeah. Sure.)" Skye thought flatly.

"...then I'm not surprised. Not many landlubbers can say they outsmarted Sid Swashbuckle the Pirate!"

Not really knowing how to respond, Marshall simply giggled politely.

"You're right, Captain Boss Mr. Sid, sir!" Arrby replied before looking at Marshall. "We didn't really like it when you kicked us off the Sea Patroller, but you and the Paw Patrol are the only people to outsmart us in a long time!"

"When we got the news that ye'd gone to Davy Jones' Locker… Well, we didn't know where to put ourselves…" Sid added sombrely. "Pups like yerself are one in a million, Marshall. Losin' ya… well, it's like droppin' a treasure chest overboard."

"Wait. How did you find out in the first place?" Marshall asked.

"We've got a TV on our ship." Arrby replied. "And Adventure Beach was so quiet… It just wasn't right..."

"What a surprise..." Skye sighed. "...I don't think anyone was in the mood for going to the beach after that..."

"After ya had the guts to take us on, it'd be a waste to lose ya before we could beat ya." Sid said. "The Paw Patrol are OUR enemies! WE'RE supposed to beat ya! Not some angry river in the middle o' the forest!"

"What we're trying to say is: We respect you too much to lose you, Marshall. And heck, losing any of the Paw Patrol would just make the whole thing feel… empty." Arrby added sadly.

"Well, either way, thank you both so much for coming. It really means a lot to us." Skye replied gratefully.

"I'm really glad I could see you two." Marshall added, smiling warmly at the pair. "It would've been more disappointing if we didn't get to see you, actually."

"Aye, lad. And we're both glad ya ain't kicked it just yet." Sid replied gently, before his expression suddenly changed from a content smile to a covetous grin. "So now that we have that out of the way, we'll be takin' this here statue! I need, need, NEED it!"

"Huh?!" Marshall barked, his face shifting to an indignant glare.

"Wha-?!" Skye shouted, getting the same look.

Sid suddenly calmed down, with his grin changing to a more sheepish, bashful one. One that spread to Arrby. "Hey! Ya can't blame a buccaneer fer tryin'!"

It hadn't taken the pups and Ryder long to notice the two latecomers. Despite Chase's initial reservations, he quickly came around and got to talking with Sid and Arrby, along with Ryder doing the same for a little while. But the chatting didn't last long before Mayor Goodway noticed Ryder looking more uncomfortable and tired by the minute.

"Ryder… You don't look well." Mayor Goodway said concernedly. "Do you think you're ready to go home?"

Ryder stopped and looked over his pups, who all seemed to be giving him worried looks. In truth, the mayor had seen straight through him. Ryder wanted nothing more than to go back home and rest after the emotional firestorm that he and his pups had been through in the past week. Ryder sighed, like he had grown so accustomed to over the past few days.

"I sure am..." Ryder replied. "I don't wanna seem rude or anything, but right now, all I wanna do is just go home, put my pajamas on and spend some alone time with my pups… Maybe eat something totally disgusting for dinner, too..."

The last sentence elicited laughter from the entire group, which felt surprisingly refreshing, given the circumstances.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, I dunno about all of you." Chase replied, looking back at the other pups.

"Hey, me too." Skye seconded.

"Me three." Marshall added.

"Ditto." Zuma said.

"Heck yeah." Rubble echoed.

"About time, too..." Rocky sighed.

"But, err..." Ryder faltered. "Why don't you pups head on back to the Lookout without me? I've er… got one more little chore before we finish this whole thing up."

"Huh? You've got more to do?" Mayor Humdinger chimed in quizzically.

"What'd that be, matey?" Sid asked.

Ryder smirked. "It's a secret." The boy cast his gaze over to Katie. "Katie? You wanna come with? I think I'm gonna need a hand."

"Huh? Really?" Katie blurted, before collecting herself. "E-Er, yeah! Sure thing, Ryder! I'll be right with you!"

A period of silence ensued before Chase spoke up. "Be careful, Ryder, sir?"

Ryder smiled. "There's nothing to worry about, Chase! I've got Katie! Now get your tails back to the Lookout, OK?"

"Yes, Ryder..." the pups replied uncertainly.

The pups watched as Ryder made for his ATV, which surprisingly took a little searching for in amongst all of the cars that had parked around City Hall. And they watched as Ryder and Katie clambered aboard and took off for parts unknown.

"Well… guess we'd better be getting back..." Skye began awkwardly.

"You guys are SURE you'll be OK?" Everest asked.

"If you guys ever need anything, then call us right away, got it? We'll help out however we can. All of us." Tracker added reassuringly.

"Thanks, Tracker..." Chase sighed happily. "We sure will."

"Come see us anytime." Marshall added. "If you ever wanna talk, we're always gonna be here."

"That's real cool of you, Marshall." Jake replied.

"We will, don't worry about that." Carlos added.

"And we'll see you around Adventure Beach?" Arrby asked with a wink.

"You know it." Zuma replied, winking back at the dachschund.

After another period of silence, the pups slowly made for their own vehicles. They were slightly out of place in amongst the cars, but this mattered little as the pups revved up their engines and slowly began to pull away.

"Bye, pups!" Mayor Goodway shouted, followed by similar farewells from everyone around her, accompanied by waving.

"See ya later, guys!" Marshall shouted back, which in itself was followed up by farewells from the rest of the pups before they all pulled away and over the horizon, returning to the comforts of home.

And as they made for home, the clouds began to break apart, allowing the sun to shine down on Adventure Bay again.

The trip back to the Lookout was conducted in absolute silence. Not for any tension in the air, but for lack of anything to say and general fatigue. The pups hadn't said it, but in reality, all six were as tired as their beloved owner. In their minds, they had all earned a nice, long rest after the emotional riptide they had all been through. When the Lookout finally came into view, the pups parked their vehicles in silence and quietly dragged themselves into the Lookout's main room.

"So… now what?" Rocky asked, dropping onto a cushion along with everyone else.

"I… guess we wait for Ryder?" Chase replied uncertainly. "I-I dunno, Rocky, I'm really not in thinking shape right now..."

"I don't think any of us are, dude..." Zuma sighed heavily.

"Should we just… watch some more TV while we wait?" Rubble suggested.

"I could go for that." Marshall quietly agreed.

"Who's got the remote?" Skye asked.

And so the pups watched TV in silence and felt the minutes slip away. They had all been watching the same cartoons for the past few days, with none of them feeling like playing or getting any exercise. None of them possessed any of the mental fortitude to do anything more than get engrossed in their TV. No-one even felt like complaining when some of Skye's favourite shows came on.

Until a few minutes later, when they were all snapped out of their respective trances with two words from a familiar voice.

"I'm home!"

Immediately, the pups sprang up from their cushions and ran up to greet their owner.

"Ryder! Hey!" Marshall shouted happily.

"Welcome home, Ryder, sir!" Chase added.

"Ha ha, take it easy, pups! I was only gone for half an hour!" Ryder laughed at how enthusiastic his pups were.

"Well, we were worried!" Skye replied. "I mean, you seemed so sad and tired and you left to go somewhere and you didn't say what it was and, err, what, what… what in the world is in those boxes?"

After the pups had finally stopped excitedly crowding Ryder, they had finally noticed that he was holding a pair of present boxes. Both of which were fairly standard in terms of appearance, being a pair of white boxes wrapped in red ribbons. One box was a large cube shape, and the other was a longer, more-rectangular one that was slightly shallower.

"I can't just tell you what's in a present!" Ryder mock-scolded. "Would you want me to tell you what was in your birthday presents?"

"Huh? No!" Rubble replied.

"Well, there you have it." Ryder moved over to a nearby table and placed the two boxes down, followed by his ever-eager pups. "But one of these..." Ryder removed the cube-shaped box from the pile with a flourish. "...is for Marshall."

"Me?" Marshall replied on instinct, surprised at Ryder lowering the box towards him.

"You." Ryder replied, failing to keep the giddy smile off his face. "You've been such a brave pup all through this whole thing. And I think you deserve a little 'welcome back' present after all you've been through."

Marshall only stared at the box for a while.

"But… I… I don't deserve-"

"Ah!" Ryder interrupted. "Yes you do. You spent three days totally alone, not knowing if you'd ever see us again, living off of grass and leaves and who-knows-what else with only a little water. You didn't even know if you were going to survive being out there. Plus, I feel like I haven't been taking care of you. So before you tell me you don't deserve a present, just think about all that. And if nothing else, at least let me spoil my pups a little after I spent so long away from you."

Marshall's mouth hung open for a second. He took a breath in to protest further, only to let it leak from his lungs without a retort.

"I… I-I don't know what to say..." Marshall whispered.

"Why don't you figure that out after you've opened it?" Ryder asked.

"C'mon, the suspense is killing me!" Chase teased with a grin.

Chase spoke for the pair of them at that point. Slowly, Marshall moved a trembling paw towards the waiting box and gingerly pushed the lid off of it. As it fell to the floor, the first thing Marshall caught sight of was a red helmet along with a large pair of grey ears. Curiosity got the better of the dalmatian as he gently look the strange object in his mouth. As he lifted it out, he noticed that it was incredibly soft to the touch and obviously rather large.

When Marshall finally set it down on the ground, he stepped back to take a good look at the gift. The "Wow"s and "Ooh"s from the other pups were a fairly good sign, but once Marshall finally got a look, he couldn't suppress a loud gasp that made him cough.

Looking back at Marshall was a plushie of a grey wolf with a beady black pair of eyes. Except this one was unique. This one was clad in a red firefighter's vest and helmet like his. The wolf plushie bore a happy smile with a slight overbite, exposing a couple of white incisors. As confident as could be.

"Katie told me you got rid of your teddy, since it was used in your memorial and all." Ryder explained. "So since that teddy's only gonna remind you of bad times, why not get a new one that'll remind you of the good times? A new teddy for our favourite fire pup." Ryder beamed. "Marshall. Say hello to Chief Wolfy!"

Marshall only stared at the toy in amazement for a few seconds longer, his jaw apparently too heavy to pick up from the floor. Eventually, he slowly reached out towards the toy with a paw, touching it and feeling how soft it was as it depressed under the pressure of his touch and slowly sprang back into place. Seemingly to test it further, Marshall pressed down on it more firmly. And shortly afterwards, Marshall broke into a huge, ecstatic grin and leapt at the toy, landing on his belly and grabbing it up in a tight hug, squeezing it with joy as he curled up on the floor.

"Aww..." the pups cooed.

"You like him, Marshall?" Ryder asked gently.

"I love him..." Marshall whispered joyfully. "Thank you so much, Ryder. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Ryder beamed again and stroked Marshall's spotted fur. He giggled slightly as Marshall looked likely to fall into a deep sleep then and there.

"What's an owner for, Marshall?" Ryder whispered before standing up and looking at his pups again. "Anyway, what's in THIS box-"

Ryder found himself cut off by a knock at the Lookout door. Looking through the glass was someone in a mailman's uniform with a letter in his hand.

"Err, pups? Anyone order anything?" Ryder asked half-jokingly.

When no-one replied, Ryder grew slightly apprehensive. "(Who the heck sends snail mail to the Lookout?)" he thought. Slowly, Ryder walked over to the door as the other pups watched on, Marshall having turned around and opened his eyes, but not letting go of Chief Wolfy.

"Hello. May I help you?" Ryder asked.

"I've got a letter here for the Paw Patrol." the mailman explained, holding out the envelope. "Special delivery."

"Is there a return address on it?"

"There is, but lemme tell you: whoever sent this, it comes from waaaaaay out."

The questions only piled up for the group. Thanking the mailman, Ryder retreated back towards his pups, letter in hand.

"What's that, Ryder? Fan mail?" Skye asked.

"Not a clue. We have a PO box for that, remember?" Ryder replied.

Rocky cringed. "Oh, gosh… That's probably bursting… I didn't check that since the end of last month… Rubble, I might need a paw with that..."

"Reading, or moving?" Rubble asked with a knowing expression of unamused apprehension. One that was shared by Rocky.

"Yes."

"Well, one thing at a time, dudes." Zuma cut in. "Mowe impowtant, who the heck's the lettew fwom?"

"Guess we're gonna find out." Ryder replied.

Working his finger through the envelope, taking care not to damage the section containing the return address, the piece of paper within was revealed. Ignoring what looked like a drawing on the rear side of it, Ryder scanned over the writing in the letter, only to emit a strangled gasp a couple of seconds later. Amazingly, he didn't drop the letter.

"Whoa, Wyder?!" Zuma shouted.

"Ryder, what's wrong?!" Marshall added.

"Wh-What is it?!" Rubble said worriedly.

Ryder looked like he had seen a ghost. All of the colour had swiftly drained away from his face as he stared at the letter with bulging eyes.

"I-I… I… I..." Ryder stammered, before looking down at Marshall. "Y-You… You, er…" Ryder continued to stammer, before exhaling the air left in his lungs, words apparently failing him. The boy kneeled down in front of his pup, laying the paper down in front of him.

"...you've gotta see this." Ryder concluded.

Confused, Marshall scanned his eyes over the letter, only to emit a loud choking noise, adopting a similar bug-eyed expression to Ryder.

"Marshall! What's wrong?!" Chase cried.

"Wh-Who's it from?!" Skye added frantically.

"Is it bad?!" Rocky chimed in.

Marshall was silent for a second. "Th-This… This letter, it's… i-it's… it's from my dad..."

Now it was everyone else's turn to let out a loud gasp.

"Ash?!" Chase shouted in shock.

"Yeah!" Marshall replied.

"B-But didn't you say that you haven't seen him since you were a teeny puppy?!" Skye asked.

"Yeah! He went with a family of farmers to live in the countryside! I only stayed because Ryder adopted me before they came to pick us up!" Marshall reminded. "But how is he sending me a letter now?! And why ONLY now?!"

"W-Was he a bad dog, Marshall?" Rubble asked fretfully.

"NO WAY!!" Marshall screamed, before seeing Rubble flinch back from his sudden yell. Poor Rubble had unknowingly struck a sore spot for the speckled pup.

"Sorry..." Marshall whimpered, cringing.

"Marshall's dad was one of the kindest dogs I've ever met." Ryder explained gently, taking over for Marshall. "Well, aside from all of you pups. Marshall loved him so much, and Ash loved him back. And it was BECAUSE Ash loved him so much that he let Marshall stay with us. His son's happiness was everything to him..."

"Oh, yeah, now I remember..." Rubble admitted sadly. "I'm so sorry, Marshall… Its been months since I heard the story…"

"It's fine, Rubble… You just forgot, is all." Marshall whispered.

"And didn't you say that Ash lost everything not long after you were born?" Rocky asked, looking sympathetically at the dalmatian.

"Mm-hm..." Marshall replied quietly, his eyes starting to moisten. "The old firehouse… Our old owners… M-My mom..."

"Youw dad must've been one heck of a tough dog, Mawshall." Zuma said consolingly. "You said he was happy and nice and funny all the way to the end. I don't know how he managed it aftew all that."

"He really was..." Marshall sighed, sniffling. "B-But how did he get the news? Does Hello Adventure Bay really go that far out?"

"We'll just have to find out, pal." Chase replied. "You don't have to read it out if you don't wanna, though."

Marshall seemed to pause for a while to think it over.

"No." Marshall decided. "It's the first thing I've had from my dad since the day he left… I've gotta do this."

"Marshall… Take your time, OK?" Skye soothed.

Taking Skye's advice, Marshall took some slow breaths and gulped as if he were swallowing a golf ball before casting his eyes to the letter and beginning to read aloud.

* * *

_To my precious son, Marshall._

_I desperately hope this letter finds you well. The postal system out here is terrible, but when I heard the news of what was going on in Adventure Bay, I had to try it. Maybe you won't ever see this letter, but regardless, I had to risk it._

_News travels far, you know? Don't think I haven't been paying attention to Adventure Bay. I've always listened out whenever you all did something big. I've seen who you've become from afar and let me tell you, I am so proud of you that I can't put it into words (not that I'm actually writing this, I mean writing with your mouth isn't the neatest option)._

_Wait. Did you just write that? Urgh, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?_

_But when the news came on TV over here and said that you had kicked the bucket on a rescue… Well, how is a father supposed to take the news that their only child ended up dying before they did? I don't think I took it too differently from anyone else. I didn't know what in the world to do with myself. I can't tell a lie. I cried more than I did when we lost your mother. After you went, I was all alone. All of my family? Dead and gone. I felt so cursed on that day. It felt like I was cursed to see everyone I love die all around me. What does someone do in that kind of case?_

_But after three days of not eating, barely drinking, never talking, I felt ready to join your mother… until the news arrived. The news arrived that you'd come home after getting lost in the forest. And that you weren't dead after all. And that news? Well, it made me cry even harder. And for longer. And knowing that you're still alive and kicking gives me the strength I need to keep going each day._

_No parent should ever have to get the news that their child is going to have their funeral before them. When it finally comes time for our family to cross the Rainbow Bridge, **I** want to be there with your mother to greet **YOU**. Not the other way around. I'm an old dog, but you? You have far more left to give this world. And this world has far more left in store for you._

_You must have been so scared in those woods with no-one to help you or feed you or anything. But when the going gets tough, the tough bite down, as your mother always said. They charge into the flames where others would run away. They press on even when everything looks set to fall apart around them._

_And you did exactly that. And I think I'm more proud of you than ever before. And if you want to keep making me proud, you'll keep doing that. You'll always push on when things look their bleakest. You'll never even think about giving up. You'll always do your best in the face of danger. That's all I ask of you. Whether you do that or not is up to you. But I know you. And I think I know what option you're gonna pick._

_And Ryder. On the off-chance that you're gonna read this too, I have something I need to tell you. I think I know how you're feeling about what happened. When you realised that you'd lost someone you cared so deeply about, it feels like a black hole inside you. And I can only imagine how much worse it is for a leader so close to his charges._

_I told you before I left that you'd be sorry if anything happened to my boy. And somehow, from what I learned about you before I left, I think you were. But I want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened at all. Details are light, but something tells me that you were completely powerless. I get the feeling that you're the kind of person who would sooner become worm food themselves before you'd let a pup die on your watch._

_So all of what I just said to Marshall? That applies to you, too. And if any of the rest of your pups are reading this letter, then it applies to them as well. Please. Don't blame yourselves over what happened, because it's absolutely not anyone's fault. Instead, all I want you to do is to remember that a miracle happened, and to always be grateful for it. And for you to be there for your pups every day, knowing that they'd do the same for you. The worst thing that you or anyone could do is take what you have for granted. And I think that what happened has proved that for both of us. You don't really know what you have until its gone._

_Marshall. Wherever you are. Whatever you do. Whoever you're with. Always remember that I love you around the world and back. And nothing will ever change that. I pray with all of my heart that we'll see each other again soon._

_With all of my love until the end of the world._

_Your father,_

_Ash_


	31. Lives Turned to Gold

And just like that, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Ash's heartfelt letter had driven all of the pups to tears, with Ryder included among them. The older dalmatian's words to his son hit all of them hard, including the ones who Ash didn't even know personally.

But none were crying harder than that same son of Ash's. Marshall had barely managed to choke out his father's name before curling into a sobbing ball on the floor. He had to admit, he hadn't thought of his father in a long time, but knowing that his accident had hurt him too made Marshall feel even worse.

"...D-D… Dad… I..." Marshall sobbed, feeling incredibly guilty.

It didn't take long for Chase and Skye to drag themselves over to either side of the dalmatian and grab him in a hug. They felt an odd kind of solidarity with Marshall. Ash wasn't their father, and yet he somehow had a way of speaking to them all. Even the pups that had never seen him at all. And soon, the remaining pups joined in as a sobbing Ryder took them all in his arms.

"Oh, Ash..." Skye whimpered.

"I-I can't believe… I-I forgot about him..." Chase sobbed.

"I-I did too..." Marshall choked tearfully. "...a-and he… HE KNEW!! I-I feel like such a bad kid-! H-HE NEARLY-! NEARLY W-W-WENT THE SAME WAY MOM DID! A-AND IT'S ALL B-BECAUSE OF ME!!"

Ryder wanted to stop Marshall from putting himself down, but he realised that right now, no-one was in any fit state to comfort anyone. All he could do was get a grip on himself before trying to calm anyone down. And that wasn't easy thanks not just to Ash's letter, but the fact that every single one of his pups was crying up a storm.

But eventually, Ryder simply found himself unable to cry anymore. He was still deeply-rattled by Ash's kind words, but he'd done so much crying for over a week that he'd simply run out of tears. And something told him that one by one, five of the pups had done, too. A few sobs were all that came from the crowd, but none of them had any tears left to cry. All except for a certain dalmatian who continued to sob into Chase's fur.

"Marshall..." Ryder began quietly. "...what did your dad say? Didn't he just say not to blame yourself over what happened?"

"B-But-! H-He-! Said he… said he… w-was ready to-!" Marshall stammered tearfully.

"He did say that, yeah. But you saw how happy he was in that letter to see that you're OK. It's not like you went out of your way to upset him, and he knows that."

"Didn't you see how proud he was of you?" Chase asked sincerely. "If I remember Ash, he wouldn't think you were bad at all!"

"B-But he said he was… r-ready to-!" Marshall sobbed.

"I think we were all feeling that way." Skye interrupted. "And he's your dad, so of course he's gonna react like that. He said it himself: it's not anyone's fault. And it's definitely NOT yours."

With these words, Marshall fell quiet. He continued to cry, but slowly, it started to die out until once more, the dalmatian was silent save for a few scattered hiccups. For a few seconds more, Marshall was silent as his breathing returned to a more steady tempo, closing his eyes and breathing gently.

"Dad was watching me the whole time..." Marshall whispered. "...and I never knew…"

"Your dad's awesome, Marshall." Rubble reassured. "He's still looking out for you from who-knows-where."

"If you REALLY wanna see him again, why not use the address he left on the envelope?" Rocky offered.

"I think you both desewve a catch-up, dude." Zuma added.

Upon Zuma finishing his sentence, Ryder broke the hug and stood up, picking up the envelope that he had left on the table, his mouth twisting into a thoughtful frown as he studied the address.

"Mistveil Farms?" Ryder muttered absently. "Is that where he is?"

"Never heard of anywhere like that..." Rubble observed.

"Well, the mailman did say it came from way out." Skye replied. "Sounds like it's in the countryside?"

"With a name like that, I'm sure of it." Rocky added.

"Hey. What's this?" Chase asked. "There's something on the back, here..."

The group turned to Chase, who had taken the letter in his mouth and was turning it over. On the back, surprisingly enough, was a pencil sketch. And a surprisingly-beautiful one at that.

"Whoa… killew awt skills." Zuma remarked.

"No kidding..." Marshall agreed, until his eyes shot open with another gasp. "GUYS! This sign! L-Look at it!"

Distracted from the highly-detailed drawing of an old cottage at the end of a long path, surrounded by grassy fields and towering trees, some fields being populated with cows, with the sun shining in the sky above, the group looked at the sign Marshall was talking about.

Atop a wide, wooden archway embedded in some stones with some ivy coiling around it was mounted a sign with strong, clear lettering. And everyone gasped when they saw what it said.

" **MISTVEIL FARM** **S** "

"Marshall, this is it!" Chase shouted excitedly. "Someone made a drawing of where your dad lives!"

"So if we look on a map..." Skye began joyfully.

"...we can find the building and go out there!" Ryder concluded with a huge grin.

"Looks like you'll get to see your dad sooner than you thought, Marshall!" Rocky reassured with a toothy smile.

"Can we come, Marshall?! Pleeeeease?!" Rubble begged.

"I weally wanna see what your dad's like! Please let us come see him!" Zuma added.

Marshall didn't reply for a few seconds. His brain was still processing everything that he had just seen. His father had just revealed where he was staying after all these years. By the time he had thought to ask Mayor Goodway, she had long since lost her copy of the paperwork, with the official story being that Chickaletta had eaten it. Marshall still vividly remembered the huge meltdown he had when Ash was finally gone, and Chase and Ryder's frantic efforts to soothe him. And now, they finally knew where he was, and Marshall could see the father he left so long ago once more.

"Dad…" Marshall whispered. "...I'll see you soon, dad." Marshall looked up and raised his voice. "That settles it! We'll look for the farm and all go see my dad! Together!"

The pups responding with loud howling and barking. Particularly from Chase, who was the only pup to have actually seen Ash in person before he was adopted by the farmers.

"Let's not be too hasty, pups." Ryder cautioned. "We've still got a lot of resting to do before that. But I promise you all that we WILL see Ash soon. Especially you, Marshall. You just say the word and I'll get right on looking for Mistveil."

"Yes, sir!" Marshall barked happily.

Ryder smiled as he picked up the letter that Chase offered to him, carefully folding up back up and putting it back in the opened envelope. "(This is SO going on the wall.)" he thought, before laying the envelope on the table next to the second box.

"Anyway, back to what I was saying before the letter got here." Ryder continued. "This box right here has a surprise for all of us."

"What the heck's in it?" Rubble asked curiously.

"Weeeeell..." Ryder replied liltingly, unable to keep from smiling. "You know we spent the last few days watching TV, right? Well, I still had my Pup Pad with me, stillgottafixthatbytheway, and I was actually talking to Mr. Porter. I ordered a couple of things from him. First was Chief Wolfy over there..." Ryder gestured to the toy that sat next to Marshall. "...and this."

Ryder picked the box off of the table and laid it out in the middle of the pups, and with a flourish, pulled off the lid. What followed was a series of gasps and expressions of amazement at the sight within.

Inside the box was a cake that had the shape of a massive, white bone. And on it was cobalt-blue writing in the middle: "TO THE BRAVEST PUPS IN THE WORLD". On either side of the bone-shaped cake was the Paw Patrol's emblem, and around the edges was red icing.

"C-Cake?" Rubble asked with his eyes shining brightly and his mouth watering.

"Of course!" Ryder replied. "We all deserved a treat after the week we've had. But especially all of you, after the pawful that I've been. And since Marshall coming home was such a big occasion, how about we celebrate it properly?"

"It looks so yummy!" Skye said enthusiastically.

"It's amazing, Ryder, sir!" Chase concurred.

"I can't wait to taste that!" Marshall added.

"Neither can I, Marshall! Mr. Porter's really good at this, isn't he? But first things first..." Ryder took out his Pup Pad. "...if this is such a big occasion, it needs a photo to mark it, right?"

The pups quickly agreed and crowded around Ryder for a selfie. The resulting photo was taken from a high angle, with a beaming Ryder making sure to get everything in it. With the cake still clearly-visible at the back of the frame and all of his pups piled around the boy with wide smiles, Ryder probably would've shed a small tear of joy if he had any tears left. It was the perfect family photo for them all.

"One for the album, huh?" Rocky asked.

"Nope! One for the wall!" Ryder replied.

The cake, of course, ended up not lasting long. Cut into seven huge slices, with one remaining that could easily be split in half for Everest and Tracker, the cake tasted better than anyone could've ever imagined. The flavour and texture were simply divine, but the added happiness of the occasion made it taste even better. Even Rubble had stopped to savour his food for a change. Maybe the huge cake would spoil their dinner, but nobody cared.

The rest of the day had passed quietly after Ryder had come back from putting his pajamas on. Once more, the pups and Ryder had all piled around the TV to watch some more cartoons, but this time, there was more laughing and joking than there was in the last few days. The group all laughed at the funny moments and talked about the stories they saw with more interest than usual. And Ryder, sat amongst his pups, had been far happier than he had been in days.

And the happiness persisted all the way until night had fallen over Adventure Bay. True to his word, Ryder ordered "the biggest, greasiest pizza this side of planet Earth" for the group to eat. It had been a long time since any of them had had pizza for dinner, but it was no match for a group of hungry pups and one young boy, and it was gone within minutes. Even the movie they were watching, "Apollo Before Time", didn't slow them down any, and they had settled back down to watch the second half after finishing the pizza.

"Wait, what happens here again?" Skye wondered aloud as she settled back in, waiting for Ryder to press the play button again.

"Don't you wemember, Skye?" Zuma asked. "This is whewe Apollo meets those cavemen!"

"IS it, though?" Chase countered. "I thought I remembered Apollo flying with the pterodactyls here..."

"I thought the Spider King showed up here!" Rubble offered.

"That happened a little while ago, Rubble." Rocky replied. "Ryder, what do you think?"

"Actually, Rocky, I haven't seen this one yet." Ryder said. "I AM curious, though."

"Heh, this is nothing compared to the next movie..." Marshall chuckled, snuggling up in Ryder's arms with Chief Wolfy.

Marshall closed his eyes, ignorant to the shocked stares of everyone around him.

"Wait, you saw the next movie?!" Rubble shouted. "That's not even out in Adventure Bay, yet!"

"Apollo in Space?!" Chase added. "Did you sneak off to see that in Barkingburg or something?!"

"Dude, you can't just end it thewe!" Zuma demanded. "You gotta tell us how it is!"

Marshall's eyes flicked open, giving Zuma a funny look. "Hey, I can't spoil it for you!"

"You don't have to tell us everything!" Rocky pleaded. "Just tell us if it was good!"

"All we want is a taste of what it was like!" Skye added.

"Sorry, but my lips are sealed." Marshall replied teasingly. "You'll have to wait until it comes out."

"No fair!" Rubble pouted.

Everyone who looked at Ryder then would notice a vile smirk forming on the boy's face as he looked evilly down at the dalmatian.

"Feeling a little quiet, huh?" Ryder asked sinisterly. "Well, that doesn't matter too much… We have ways of making you talk..."

Slowly, Ryder moved his hands over to Marshall's torso and started slowly scribbling a finger up and down the spotted pup's belly.

"Tickle, tickle!" Ryder cooed.

"EEK-!" Marshall shrieked, practically jumping out of his fur. "Hee hee hee, n-no-! D-Don't-! Hee hee hee-! S-stop iiit! Ha ha ha ha ha ha-!"

"Aww, pupper can't handle a little tickling?" Ryder asked teasingly. "Now you feel like spilling the beans?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha-! N-NEVER!" Marshall laughed.

"Ooh, we've got a tough one!" Ryder replied. "Well, how about THIS?!"

Everyone present was nearly-deafened by the ensuing shriek from the ticklish dalmatian as all of Ryder's fingers dug into his torso, the boy quickly rolling Marshall onto his back.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!! NA-NAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-! N-NOOOOOOOOOOOAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Marshall howled.

"Gotcha now!" Ryder yelled, grinning joyfully. "I'll tickle the answers out of you yet, you little weasel!"

But any sound that came out of Marshall's muzzle was complete nonsense. Marshall was simply laughing too hard to even put together a coherent thought, let alone a sentence. The pups couldn't help but smile widely as Ryder made taunting, playful noises as he tickled the dalmatian silly, watching the squealing, squirming pup cry with laughter, kicking and thrashing around, yet not actually making any effort to get away. Until a certain german shepherd found himself unable to sit back and watch anymore.

"Hey, don't keep him to yourself!" Chase whined playfully, approaching the pair on the floor with a playful grin. "Now you're gonna get it, Marshall! GRAAGH!"

"AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CH-CHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-! CH-CHAHAHAHA-! NAAAHAHAHAHA-!!" Marshall squealed helplessly as Chase pounced on him and began kneading his side.

Being tickled by Ryder was bad enough. Being tickled by both Ryder and Chase simultaneously was unbearable. But at the same time, Marshall couldn't deny that he was enjoying himself. Finally getting to play with Ryder and the pups again after such a long time only made the moment even better. The joy in Marshall's hysterical laughter was very audible to just about everyone, as was his furiously-wagging tail.

But as Chase merrily scribbled his paws up and down his friend's side, he didn't notice that Ryder had taken one of his hands away from Marshall. A hand that was slowly inching towards him.

"GOTCHA!"

And Chase let out a loud yelp of surprise as he felt said hand flip him onto his back like a pancake, landing next to the pup who was currently laughing his head off. The shepherd's eyes shot open as he realised that he was about to join Marshall in his laughter.

"OH, NO!" Chase yelled. "NONONONONOEEEEEAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!!"

"CHAHAHASE-!! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Marshall cried through his own mirth.

"Now I have two!" Ryder growled playfully. "You were both fools to challenge ME!"

Ryder was clearly struggling to juggle two helpless, squirming pups as he tickled them both senseless, but it was clear that all three parties were enjoying themselves immensely. Ryder was grinning widely enough to practically split his face in two. Perhaps the happiest he'd been in days. And the joy felt by the three way highly contagious, to the extent that a certain cockapoo decided that she didn't want to simply watch the three playing anymore.

"You're wide open, Ryder!" Skye shouted, charging towards the boy.

But unfortunately for her, Ryder's reflexes were better than she had intially thought. Almost as soon as Skye kneeled down mid-run to leap at her owner did that same owner let go of the two pups he was holding and thrust out his hands to deftly grab the cockapoo leaping towards him. The ticklish assault began quickly, as did the eardrum-busting squeal that resulted.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-!! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! N-NOOOOOO-! PLEEEEEEEAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!"

"Hah! Too slow, little pup!" Ryder taunted, wrangling Skye to the floor, not letting up on tickling her.

"Not Skye, too!" Rubble shouted, perhaps more dramatically than he intended.

"Nooooo!" Zuma howled, caught up in the moment.

"GET HIM!!" Rocky yelled, charging full-tilt to Ryder's side and leaping at the boy.

With a holler, Ryder involuntarily let go of Skye and toppled to the floor with a resounding thud. Seeing what was going on, Rubble and Zuma charged Ryder as Rocky wriggled underneath the boy's shirt, with Zuma moving to tickle Ryder's neck and Rubble pressing his paws into Ryder's ribs. Ryder's reaction to getting a taste of his own medicine was both immediate and very loud.

" **GAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!!!** AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! N-NO-! NO-! HAHAHAHAHA-! NO FAHAHAHAHAHAIR-! AAAHAHAHAHAHA-!"

But for Chase, Skye and Marshall, the taunting from the other pups and Ryder's mirthful howls had faded into the background. For all three of them, had decided to simply lay where they were, a warm feeling of happiness spreading all throughout each of them. Which only intensified as Skye dragged herself over to the tired Marshall and laid down next to him, leaving the pup sandwiched between herself and Chase. Marshall only smiled more widely as the three elected to simply enjoy one another's company tails wagging gently behind them.

After about five minutes of Ryder slowly being reduced to begging for mercy, Rocky, Zuma and Rubble had finally let up and let Ryder go after he had turned red in the face from laughing yet again. It took the boy a few minutes to regain his bearings, but upon looking at the six tired-looking pups, with one dalmatian looking about ready to fall asleep where he lay, Ryder decided that perhaps an earlier bedtime would be in everyone's interest, something that none of the pups felt like disagreeing with, the paused movie on the TV all but forgotten as Ryder turned it off.

After their long day, the pups were all too eager to go to bed. Every single one of had been through more than they ever could have expected, and any extra sleep they could get would be most welcome. All of the pups swiftly jumped up onto Ryder's bed and lay down around him, with Marshall and Chase in particular going as far as to wriggle under the covers alongside Ryder, Marshall in particular not letting go of Chief Wolfy, even as Ryder drew the both of them into a hug after switching off his bedside light. With the room in darkness, the entire Paw Patrol quickly started to lose the will to stay awake.

"Hey, Ryder, sir?" Chase whispered from the darkness. "Do you think… that we're on our way to getting better, now?"

Summoning up the last of his strength, Ryder willed himself to reply before he finally fell asleep.

"One hundred percent, Chase." Ryder quietly replied. "The signs are there, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I mean we're finally playing together, again." Marshall whispered. "If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is."

"And we're finally back to our old selves, I'd say." Skye surmised softly.

"And we're gonna stay that… way… right?" Rubble attempted to ask, only to be interrupted by a yawn.

"Only if we work for it." Rocky whispered back. "And I'll bet that's exactly what we're gonna do."

"Wight on..." Zuma replied sleepily. "And we won't stop helping each other now that we're all back togethew, eithew. I know it. What's a family for, wight?"

Ryder felt his heart overflowing with joy. He was unable to keep the huge smile off of his face as he spoke again.

"What did I ever do to deserve pups as good as you?" he asked blissfully.

"Being the best owner ever, that's what." Chase whispered happily.

This response was all it took to drive Ryder even closer to tears. With them all having fun again and vowing to be there for one another in their times of need, normality seemed to have truly returned for the entire group.

"Pups… I love you all so much..." Ryder said waveringly.

"We love you, too, Ryder..." Marshall replied immediately.

"Heck, we love you more..." Skye added.

One by one, everyone was ready to fall straight into Dreamland, but not before Ryder was able to vocalise one more thought. One final affirmation of how much he treasured the company of his pups. And how much he adored his now permanently-reunited family.

"I love you times infinity..."

And just like that, the Sandman finished his work sending Ryder and the pups into a deep, blissful slumber. The group's suffering, for the time being, was finally over. There was a long road to recovery ahead of them. One that was doubtlessly full of bumps, holes and cracks. But it was a road that they would all swear to travel dauntlessly and without fail. And in the end, one thing was absolutely certain for both Ryder and the pups:

Life had never been better.


	32. Epilogue: Rekindled Anew

Well… what a week that was.

I feel like I should say more, but I don't really know what else I can say about it! I mean, other than "miracles exist", anyway. After so long at rock bottom, I thought I'd never be able to get out of the dark pit I'd dug myself into… Heh, shows what I know, right? When I think about it, the fact that Marshall came home in the first place still makes me all kinds of dizzy. I was so sure I watched him die right in front of me, and yet…

When I picked him as our fire pup, I chose him for all kinds of reasons. He's brave, he's kind, he's helpful… and he's stubborn. When things look their worst, Marshall never once gives up. I think he'd sooner die for real before throwing in the towel. And you know what? That week just proved it beyond any doubt. I'm so proud of that pup…

I thought my heart was gonna explode in my chest the day after he came home. He'd been through so much, but even then, his first thought was everyone else. We'd all suffered horribly when we lost him. I still feel bad about shutting myself off instead of talking, to tell you the truth… But him coming back home? Him surviving? I'd say that gave us all the power to move on. I probably don't deserve it, but either way, I've been given another chance. I. Will. **NOT**. Blow it. If the powers that be want to take my pups away again, then they'll have to tear them from my cold, dead arms first.

Its been a month, but I'd say that things are picking back up for us. The rescues have been coming back in. Slowly, but hey, rescues are rescues. And Marshall's been coming along for them like always. And with my Pup Pad fixed, it's like nothing ever happened. Kinda spooky when I think about it… And Humdinger actually made good on that five minute head start thing when his kittens started making a mess of Adventure Bay last week! Trust me, no-one was more shocked than I was!

But what's even better is the fact that we're all probably closer together than ever. I mean, when I heard that Chase and Skye had been driven apart… well, my heart was already in pieces, but that was just setting the pieces on fire… And I felt like it was my fault, too…

But still, those splits healed. We all came back together after Marshall returned. Out of everything that's happened? I'm probably way more grateful for that than anything. I never thought about how much we all rely on each other until Marshall fell in the river. And I really never thought about us all still just being a bunch of kids. But now I realise the two kinda go hand-in-hand. Really makes you think.

But our recovery is still going on. We're all a lot better than we were before, but I guess it's true what they said: We weren't gonna get over something so tragic in a hurry. It took a little while before the pups all had the guts to start playing with each other again like they used to, but even then, the nightmares haven't gone away.

We've tried sleeping in our own beds from time to time, but most nights, I've had at least one of the pups come up to my room in tears from a bad dream. Skye, Marshall, Rocky, heck, even Chase! And I hate to say that I'm no exception. It was kinda embarrassing to go wake Marshall after I had a bad dream, but he told me I was just being silly for being guilty. Heh, I do NOT wanna hear that from him… But a few cuddles was all it took for a good night's sleep. Who'dve thought, right?

So yeah, we're still working on the whole "sleeping in our own beds" thing. And we've all still slept together a few times. But I've gotta say, when Chase said that maybe we expect too much of ourselves? That hit me hard. How many times have we had the chance to cut loose and goof off? Mayor Goodway actually told me the night I totally broke down that I'm still young, and that I'm not gonna have that luxury forever. She really doesn't know how right she is, I swear…

So I've decided that we need a vacation. A couple weeks off in a nice resort oughta do the trick. We'll finally have the chance to not care about rescues for a few days. To be the kids we all really are. And after a lot of looking, I've found the perfect resort by a beach for all six of us. I swear, its got everything! A water park, an amusement park, an arcade, a pool, a disco, karaoke, a buffet… It sounds too good to be true, but the thousands of reviews its got tell all. People taking their kids there and them wanting to go back all the time… It sounds like heaven…

I'm gonna make sure we head out in, oh, maybe a month. I've talked to Mayor Goodway and she was really understanding. But I wanna surprise my pups… so I'm organising a fake rescue for all of them to find pieces of a message I left them! I know they're gonna love it. Both the news AND the resort. But I get the feeling I'm probably gonna drown that day. Those pups are gonna lick my face until I look like I just stepped out of the ocean, I bet. I know them too well. Let these words be the Final Will and Testament of Ryder- wait a minute, the heck am I saying?!

But I still haven't stopped talking to everyone. I call the usual suspects pretty often to talk things out with them. Katie, Mayor Goodway, Jake and Everest, Tracker and Carlos, heck, even Mayor Humdinger's checked in a couple times! Just goes to prove we all have a heart somewhere… But all this talking really helps me feel better. It sure beats wallowing in my own misery…

I wouldn't wish how I felt last month on anyone… I felt like more than a failure. I felt like a horrible, STUPID person who couldn't even keep his pups safe… And I still get that feeling sometimes… Not a day goes by when I don't have that feeling bubbling back up at least a little. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the days when it was just me, Chase and Marshall, and the scariest thing we had to worry about was the huge bags of Brussels sprouts Mr. Porter would give us as rewards for helping him… I… I miss those simpler days.

But it's only because of everyone else that I've been able to push through that. It's because I'm actually talking to everyone about how I feel that I can get rid of those feelings. I only wish I'd done that sooner… Thinking about it, I acted like a serious butt… And even then, people still wanted to help me. They wanted to see me. They wanted to get me through it. I guess it's like Ash said: the worst thing anyone could do is take what they have for granted.

And it feels so good to be back out there. Back with the people of Adventure Bay. Back with my friends. And back with my pups. Taking care of them, feeding them, cleaning them, cheering them up whenever they're sad... I'm one of the luckiest kids in the world. I just wish it didn't take nearly losing one of my pups to realise that… But I've come back a changed kid. I realise now that I'm NOT invincible. I never thought about it before now, but really, I've got fears and weaknesses just like everyone else. And I guess I haven't been taking them as seriously as I should've.

I've always thought about taking care of my pups. But not once did I think about it the other way around. Those pups look out for me as much as I look out for them. I thought I'd lost their trust and respect completely after losing Marshall and then running away again after he came back… But I guess we all care about each other too much for that to happen, huh?

If I really wanna make those pups happy, then it looks like I'm not just gonna have to be there for them all the time, but always let them be there for me, too. Like I said, I've got fears and weaknesses, too. But it's only with everyone else's help that I can push through them. And I let my pups down by shutting myself off when we all needed each other the most.

Well, I've got two words: **NO. MORE.** There won't be a day that'll pass where I won't be there for them for any reason at all. If they need me, I WILL be there. And I'm never gonna hide away ever again. If they want to take care of me for a change, then I'm not gonna stop them at all. Why? Because that week made me realise something: I'm not just the pups' owner. And they're not just my pets. So what are we to each other? We've all said it before. And it's no less true now…

...a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. Not really much to say here. If I ever upload again, I'll likely upload to both sites simultaneously. That's about all. Thanks for listening.


End file.
